Gerald Bell is a leading consultant and educator on the all important topic of leadership. If you want to learn about leadership, he is number one without a doubt. According to Bell, a good listener is a good leader and he has developed six laws of listening that everyone can benefit from in any facet of life.
The 6 Laws of listening are:
1. You can’t listen and work at the same time.
2. You can’t listen and think at the same time.
3. There is no such thing as multitasking.
4. Everyone knows exactly when you stopped listening.
5. You can’t fake listening. You can’t pretend to listen. You can’t fool people.
6. People only tell you the truth when they think you’re capable of hearing it.
If you can listen well, you will likely earn the respect and appreciation of your employees and friends. This will lead to better communication and better leadership out of you, the informed boss. Stick to the laws of listening in your next encounter and see how much more you learn and how much more the other person feels respected. Remember, leadership starts with listening.
And gentlemen, listening gets you laid.