Active Listening For Better Leadership Results

Active Listening For Better Leadership Results
By Sean McPheat

I got asked a really good question a couple ofdays ago by a leader that finds it difficultto listen to others.

Ok, on with the show - here is the email I received:

Hi Sean,

Listening to my staff is an area I feel really difficultto master.

Have you got a short, sharp model that I can easilyremember that I can take into EVERY situation whenI need to actively listen?

Thanks again Sean

David

here is the reply that I sent to him!

Hi David,

Your twenty pound note is in the post for yourkind comments!

You did a great job on the second exercise when you went into it with the mindset of Activelistening rather then Passive listening.

Ok, let me give you a whistle stop technique thatyou can use to become a better listener.

It's called R.A.S.E

R = Respond to the content

A = Acknowledge the feelings of what is being said

S = Show your understanding

E = Encourage further information

Let me give you an example:

RESPOND TO THE CONTENT

This is another term for reflecting back what they havesaid in your own terms. By doing this it demonstratesyour own understanding and if you know you have to dothis it really makes you listen believe me!

This is also called paraphrasing David. There is asection on paraphrasing in your course manual page67.

So, if the person says:

You can cut the atmosphere with a knife at work

You could reply with:

So, there are some serious going's on then with people

This response shows the speaker that you have understoodwhat they have said.

Then.....

ACKNOWLEDGE THE FEELINGS

So you change your focus to acknowledge what the personmust be feeling:

It sounds as though you are feeling uncomfortable about what is currently going on within your office

Then...

SHOW THAT YOU UNDERSTAND

Make your understanding real and legitimate even ifyou do not agree with them yourself. Remember, you are taking the speakers point of view into accountand appreciate that.

If I was in your situation I would feel uncomfortabletoo. I can see that you do not like this type ofatmosphere in the air at work

Then...

ENCOURAGE FURTHER INFORMATION

The final step in RASE is to encourage further discussionby asking an open ended question.

So, tell me - what exactly is going on there?

In Summary:

I hope that you find that model useful David.

That does not mean that you use it everytime aspeople will tend to see straight through it ifyou do.

Add it to your toolbox of skills and use it wheneveryou need it.

Thanks again David and please do take advantage ofour post-course email support system, it is there tohelp you.

Sean

I hope you found that useful?

It's now time to add that technique to your toolbox!

Sean McPheat provides coaching, management training and consulting to a number of businesses around the globe. He is the owner of http://www.management-training-development.com and designs and delivers management training courses, programmes and consultancy assignments across the UK, Europe, US and the Middle East.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=SeanMcPheat
http://EzineArticles.com/?Active-Listening-For-Better-Leadership-Results&id=143094