¶ … Power Listening" by Bernard T. Ferrari Power Listening by Bernard T. Ferrari:

The gift of silence -- the importance of keeping quiet to truly listen

We have all heard about the concept of 'power lunching' but the basic concept behind the book Power Listening by Bernard T. Ferrari is far simpler -- and also far more likely to promote effective work relationships. According to Ferrari, one of the critical problems in the workplace is a failure of employees to listen to one another. Ferrari suggests a variety of techniques to improve listening amongst employees, such as being reflective about the 'kind' of listener you are; respecting your conversation partner and his or her ideas; remaining silent while the other person is talking; challenging your assumptions; and keeping your focus. Listening is not something that is innate, any more than the gift of speech is: listening is a learned, socialized behavior.

One of the positive aspects of the fact that listening can be learned is that this means that even people who currently struggle with communication issues can benefit from instruction in the process. "Listening is no more a passive, innate ability than speaking is. If we can teach people to write and speak more clearly and persuasively, if we can break down the process of imparting information into discrete, learnable steps, then we can do the same with the process of receiving information" (Ferrari 4). While some people may seem to have a greater natural gift for being a good listener, this does not excuse the rest of us for failing to try to hone this skill.

Ferrari also notes the emotional issues which can interfere with listening, such as a failure to respect the other person's position or point-of-view. Particularly in the workplace, where there are innate asymmetries of power, managers may feel as if they have no obligation to listen to employees with any degree of care or consideration.

"Some confuse hearing with listening and are not aware that in addition to receiving stimuli, listening includes a process of attending to, interpreting, and in some way responding to a message" (Froemming & Penington, "Emotional triggers"). This is why the technique of remaining silent when someone else is speaking is so important -- the fact that you are interrupting someone is an automatic 'cue' that you have not been listening to the past few words the person has been saying. A manager might assume he has 'heard' an employee merely because he has waited during the appropriate span of time when the employee has been saying words, but that is not tantamount to effective communication.
Truly listening to employees rather than merely 'hearing them out' is an essential component of creating a truly participatory management system in which employees feel their input is validated. Managers can gain important insight from employees at every level of the organization regarding customer behavior, how to improve operations to make them more efficient, or how employees perceive current changes taking place at the company. One of the greatest sources of change resistance is often the fact that employees feel that managers have kept them 'out of the loop' and have not communicated the need for change or prepared them for change. Simply by truly listening to employees and responding to their concerns, rather than letting employees 'vent' is essential. "If we listen well in business, our minds will quickly become filled with layers and layers of new ideas" (Ferrari 6). As well as being more ethical and socially astute to listen, listening can also be translated into financial value for the company and prevent the organization becoming stuck in a rut.

Of course, this…