{"id":28653,"date":"2021-02-15T21:12:23","date_gmt":"2021-02-16T02:12:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/?p=28653"},"modified":"2021-02-15T21:12:58","modified_gmt":"2021-02-16T02:12:58","slug":"15-facts-about-the-most-underrated-but-possibly-most-important-leadership-skill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/2021\/02\/15\/15-facts-about-the-most-underrated-but-possibly-most-important-leadership-skill\/","title":{"rendered":"15 Facts About The Most Underrated (But Possibly Most Important) Leadership Skill"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3dhSyxC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-28657 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/41bChkOa4zL._SX329_BO1204203200_.jpg?resize=199%2C300&ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"199\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/41bChkOa4zL._SX329_BO1204203200_.jpg?resize=199%2C300&ssl=1 199w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/41bChkOa4zL._SX329_BO1204203200_.jpg?w=331&ssl=1 331w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 199px) 100vw, 199px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>There is one leadership skill which is the most underrated but possibly most important.<\/strong> \u00a0Interestingly, I have never heard it discussed at a conference. \u00a0I have never listened to a podcast focusing on it. \u00a0And while it is discussed in individual chapters, I have never read a book solely dedicated to this skill. \u00a0 Yet, you will never reach your full potential as a leader without it. \u00a0Failure to develop this skill will greatly reduce your influence.<\/p>\n<h2>This underrated but vitally important leadership skill is Listening Skills.<\/h2>\n<p>In Adam Grant’s new book <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3dhSyxC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><em><strong>Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don’t Know<\/strong><\/em><\/a>, he dedicates significant amounts of time to the value of this skill in a section entitled The Art Of Influential Listening. \u00a0His thoughts are insightful, challenging, and convicting.<\/p>\n<p><strong>The following are 15 Facts About Listening Skills<\/strong> he provides:<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>Listening is not just talking less. \u00a0It is the skill of asking and responding.<\/li>\n<li>Great listeners show more interest in others than judging their status or proving a point.<\/li>\n<li>We can all get better as listeners.<\/li>\n<li>You should ask “curious questions that don’t have the hidden agenda of fixing, saving, advising, convincing, or correcting.”<\/li>\n<li>Great listeners know people often want sympathy rather than solutions.<\/li>\n<li>Betty Bigombe said, “Even the devil appreciates being listened to.”<\/li>\n<li>Listening makes people less anxious and defensive.<\/li>\n<li>Many communicators attempt to look smart. \u00a0Great listeners make their audiences feel smart.<\/li>\n<li>A little listening goes a long way. \u00a0Doctors interrupt their patients on an average of 11 seconds. \u00a0Ironically, patients only need an average of 29 seconds to describe their symptoms. \u00a0If these doctors only listened for just 18 more seconds, what a difference it would make.<\/li>\n<li>Few people listen to information without first giving permission.<\/li>\n<li>Listening gives people the space to reflect on their views. \u00a0And sometimes they end up changing their own minds.<\/li>\n<li>Listening is a sign of respect.<\/li>\n<li>Listening is an expression of care.<\/li>\n<li>When we have first shown we care, people are more likely to listen to us.<\/li>\n<li>Grant summarizes his thoughts on listening by writing, “Listening is a way of offering others our scarcest, most precious gift: our attention.”<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>Listening has traditionally been my weakest leadership skill. \u00a0I have worked very hard on it the last couple of years. \u00a0Adam’s words really hit home for me. \u00a0I highly recommend his new book. \u00a0You can purchase your copy <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3dhSyxC\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">HERE<\/a> or on the image above.<\/p>\n<p>How are you as a listener?<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/eepurl.com\/hmX12b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-28473 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/w_bril04c8.jpg?resize=232%2C300&ssl=1\" alt=\"\" width=\"232\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/w_bril04c8.jpg?resize=232%2C300&ssl=1 232w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/w_bril04c8.jpg?resize=790%2C1024&ssl=1 790w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/w_bril04c8.jpg?resize=768%2C995&ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/w_bril04c8.jpg?resize=1185%2C1536&ssl=1 1185w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/01\/w_bril04c8.jpg?w=1200&ssl=1 1200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 232px) 100vw, 232px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/eepurl.com\/hmX12b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\"><strong>The Top 100 Leadership Quotes From 2020<\/strong><\/a> is my latest ebook. \u00a0The wisdom contained in these pages from top business leaders, pastors, coaches, and superlative thinkers sustained countless leaders in the most turbulent year anyone can remember. \u00a0If you want to be the best leader you can possibly be, click <a href=\"http:\/\/eepurl.com\/hmX12b\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer nofollow\">HERE<\/a>\u00a0or on the image provided to download this FREE resource. \u00a0The lessons learned from last year, if applied, will sustain you for years to come.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There is one leadership skill which is the most underrated but possibly most important. \u00a0Interestingly, I have never heard it discussed at a conference. \u00a0I have never listened to a podcast focusing on it. \u00a0And while it is discussed in individual chapters, I have never read a book solely dedicated to this skill. \u00a0 Yet, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":28657,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"nf_dc_page":"","iawp_total_views":1,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[773],"tags":[111],"class_list":["post-28653","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-communication","tag-communication"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/41bChkOa4zL._SX329_BO1204203200_.jpg?fit=331%2C499&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28653","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28653"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28653\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28662,"href":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28653\/revisions\/28662"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/28657"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28653"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28653"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/briandoddonleadership.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28653"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}