Don’t just talk, listen!

Arwa, Badriya, and Ruqaiya are three respected and qualified team members of an initiative who were assigned a task during one of the group’s periodic meetings to create a detailed organisation chart, define the relevant legal structure required for the organisation to operate, and then finally illustrate a real-world and practical case study of an existing organisation setup as a recommendation. During the team meeting, the three members not only received a distinct briefing but also received periodic gentle reminders and follow-ups on their assignment. However, despite the quality, unique strength, and experience that each of the members possesses and brings to the table, the outcome of their assigned deliverable was not as per the agreement expected by the entire group.

Did the 3-team member receive a clear briefing of their assignment? Yes. Were there any challenges raised by any of the members about the assignment? No. Were there periodic follow-ups on the progress and support given to each of the 3 team members about the assignment? Yes. Was there any concern and/or challenge pertaining to time, money, or resources to deliver the agreed assignment? No. Then, what went wrong? The 3 team members did not listen and failed to clarify the clear details of the assignment! Time and effort were wasted as a result.

Upon investigating the issue further, it was learned that despite the clear assignment of roles among the team members, there was misalignment among them to start with (e.g., Badriya was not even consulted on the decisions and recommendation of the assignment), and the team failed to grasp the key details of the assignment (and that’s most probably due to lacking necessary listening skills).

This story is a powerful reminder of the importance of effective listening, be it for personal and/or professional growth. One can have the best knowledge, experience, and skillsets, yet without an effective listening skill, he/she will most of the time face a similar outcome as the 3 great team members I have illustrated at the beginning of my article today.

Benefits of effective listening include, but are not limited to, meaningful and clear communications, stronger and more impactful relationships, and indeed a learning opportunity, to mention a few. Requirements of initiatives will be crystal clear. Many problems and disagreements would be solved. Stronger and more effective relationships will be built as a result.

And lastly, one would learn a lot from just being a good listener. I may not be a great listener myself (and know this is a common challenge to many), yet this is a skill I noticed to have resolved many challenges in my personal and professional life as an experience. When we listen actively, we not only hear the words but also can deduce and derive solutions, suggestions, and advice (if that was required in the first place) as a conclusion from something known or assumed.

I know it may not be easy at some time and in some context, yet trust me, it is one thing you must not avoid doing (practicing and improving) to have better relationships and solutions to problems. I will try to share some of the practical listening skills that I personally follow (on my future articles) as part of my personal and professional endeavors.

To conclude my article this week, let me emphasise that effective listening will not only result in great personal and professional relationships, yet will also ensure your communication is meaningful. The next time you’re invited for a meeting, in any context it is, try and be a good listener (apart from only speaking). I promise you that the results will be profound. Until we catch up again next week, stay positive and continue winning.

Tariq al Barwani

The author is the founder of Knowledge Oman