Synopses & Reviews
Active listening is a person’s willingness and ability to hear and understand. At its core, active listening is a state of mind that involves paying full and careful attention to the other person, avoiding premature judgment, reflecting understanding, clarifying information, summarizing, and sharing. By learning and committing to the skills and behaviors of active listening, leaders can become more effective listeners and, over time, improve their ability to lead.
Synopsis
Listening well is an essential component of good leadership. You can become a more effective listener and leader by learning the skills of active listening. Working relationships become more solid, based on trust, respect, and honesty. Active listening is not an optional component of leadership; it is not a nicety to be used to make others feel good. It is, in fact, a critical component of the tasks facing today's leaders.
About the Author
This series of guidebooks draws on the practical knowledge that the
Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) has generated, since its inception in 1970, through its research and educational activity conducted in partnership with hundreds of thousands of managers and executives. Much of this knowledge is shared-in a way that is distinct from the typical university department, professional association, or consultancy. CCL is not simply a collection of individual experts, although the individual credentials of its staff are impressive; rather it is a community, with its members holding certain principles in common and working together to understand and generate practical responses to today's leadership and organizational challenges.
The purpose of the series is to provide managers with specific advice on how to complete a developmental task or solve a leadership challenge. In doing that, the series carries out CCL's mission to advance the understanding, practice, and development of leadership for the benefit of society worldwide.
Michael H. Hoppe is a senior program and research associate at CCL’s Greensboro campus. He delivers custom programs to clients worldwide, as well as the Leadership Development Program (LDP)® and other open-enrollment programs. He also researches and designs modules on cross-cultural leadership issues. Michael holds an M.S. in clinical psychology from the University of Munich, Germany; an M.S. in educational psychology and statistics from the State University of New York at Albany; and a Ph.D. in adult education and institutional studies from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Table of Contents
7 Listening and Leadership
12 The Active Listening Skill Set
18 Barriers to Active Listening
21 How to Improve Your Listening Skills
28 Leading with Active Listening
29 Suggested Readings
30 Background
31 Key Point Summary