Category: Listening Seeds
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FIGHTING THE INNER ASSESSMENT
Two competitive U.S. corporations were working on a joint project. The first step was to build a team composed of engineers from both companies. They were all very committed. The project was going to be profitable for both companies ($650 million over 2 years), and yet nothing was moving forward. It seemed that nothing could…
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LISTENING IS HARD WORK
Morgan Scott Peck was an American psychiatrist and best-selling author, well known for his first book, The Road Less Traveled. In this classic, he emphasized, “Listening well is an exercise of attention and by necessity hard work. It is because most people do not realize this or they are not willing to do the work…
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THE POWER OF DEEP LISTENING
The term ‘active listening’ is a frequently used term that means a person is a great listener. But the reality is that a person could be faking it, engaging in surface listening and send off the impression that they are ‘actively listening’. If you are one of those who uses ‘active listening’, I invite you…
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VOICE TONE – IT’S YOUR CHOICE
How is your tone of voice? Researchers claim that up to 40% of your verbal communication is made through tone of voice. Sometimes, it’s even more than that. The 4 elements of voice tone (pitch, speed, volume and emphasis) combine to form an important part of the meaning of your messages. To underscore the importance,…
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SERVANT-LEADERSHIP
This Fall term at Rollins. I am launching a new course….Servant-Leadership. While the idea of servant leadership goes back at least two thousand years, the modern servant leadership movement was launched by Robert K. Greenleaf in 1970 with the publication of his classic essay, The Servant as Leader. It was in that essay that he…
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LEADERSHIP IS ‘WRITING ON A BLANK SHEET OF PAPER’
Several years ago, I had the honor of interviewing Millard Fuller on the topic of leadership and listening. Millard founded Habitat for Humanity International in 1976 and served in executive roles until 2005. Through his stellar leadership, Habitat grew into a worldwide Christian housing ministry and in 1996, former U.S. President Bill Clinton awarded Fuller…
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HOW TO MEASURE YOUR LISTENING
“If you can’t measure it, you can’t improve it.” This is one of the most important business quotes from Dr. Peter Drucker, Father of Modern Management. Dr. Drucker has left us with this sage advice that we can use in any area of life – – – especially with your listening. Too many times,…
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NO BEAT, NO RHYTHM, NO CONSISTENCY
In the film Mr. Holland’s Opus, music teacher Mr. Holland worked relentlessly in helping student Lou Russ, the state wrestling champion, to find the beat on the bass drum so that he would be able to pass the band course. No beat, no pass…. it’s as simple as that. Eventually, Lou found the beat and,…
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‘REALLY’ LISTEN TO NATURE
Naturalist John Muir eloquently wrote: “Here is calm so deep, grasses cease waving… wonderful how completely everything in wild nature fits into us, as if truly part and parent of us. The sun shines not on us, but in us. The rivers flow not past, but through us, thrilling, tingling, vibrating every fiber and cell…
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LEAD LIKE A THERMOSTAT
Leaders don’t just take the temperature of their team or their organization, they control it. A thermometer takes the temperature; a thermostat regulates it. So goes the life of an effective leader, otherwise known as….the thermostat. To create change, you have to control the temperature. There are 2 primary tasks: RAISE THE HEAT: So people…