Active listening plays a vital role in achieving the goals of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). An inclusive leadership makes DEI goals easier to achieve.
We should all engage in conversations with different types of people. Be it race, religion, gender, culture, or background, this helps us learn and understand perspectives other than our own.
According to research carried out by the University of Missouri, we are on the whole, poor and inefficient listeners. An average person retains between 25% and 50% of what they hear. We are guilty of keeping one eye and ear on our phone and one on a colleague when a colleague asks a question. Passive or distracted listening hampers productivity and workplace morale.
A team that feels unheard or undervalued will not work cohesively. The leader is responsible for paving the way for an inclusive workplace where all employees feel included and heard.
What is active listening?
Active listening is not distracted, judgemental, or interruptive. It is mindful, respectful, and empathetic of your conversational partner. It is a skill that takes time to develop and master. Active listening at the workplace can positively impact the overall communication of the workforce. It can be vital in resolving workplace disputes or misunderstandings.
Gender element to active listening
It is important to recognize the roadblocks to active listening in terms of gender. Women face additional roadblocks when making their voices and opinions heard. Research shows that men are almost three times likely to interrupt women when they speak. Women often allow this to happen without challenging men because of the negative stereotype of being ‘bossy’, ‘assertive’, etc. Leaders should reflect on their actions and ensure that female counterparts are heard and get the same kind of audience and platform for their opinions.
A few tips to help individuals and organizations improve active listening.
Improving active listening on an individual level:
- Passive listening occurs when you are multi-tasking or distracted. Leave devices behind and pay full attention to the conversation.
- Learn to still the voice within and stop the urge to interrupt. It may sometimes be beyond your tolerance level, but still.
- Look, act, and be interested. Pay attention to body language and facial expressions.
- Visualize others’ viewpoints by putting yourself in their shoes.
- Be open. Try not to enter a conversation with a pre-determined outcome in mind.
- Do not evaluate or offer critical comments unless prompted.
- Rephrase the points in the conversation periodically and when appropriate.
Improving active listening on organizational level:
- Develop engaging and relatable methods of receiving feedback from the staff.
- Organize 360-degree review, which allows all colleagues to provide feedback on teammates, not just line managers.
- Have virtual focus groups – real-time, facilitated chatrooms where members can participate anonymously in a structured session.
- Peer-to-peer sharing is where interactive groups share their challenges and offer feedback as a group.
- Have millennial boards where young and diverse professionals are brought together to tackle the same issues facing their board of directors.
- Have reverse mentoring where junior team members are paired with someone more senior to share topics and knowledge of importance.
- Create an atmosphere of trust by ensuring feedback is followed up upon with a visible response and clear communication of the next steps.
- Follow up on feedback to understand why the organization’s culture has developed in the way it has.
When people connect, they feel they can bring their whole selves to work, and in turn, can see an increase in productivity and emotional wellbeing among staff. A workforce that feels comfortable expressing themselves in the office environment is more likely to engage fully, increasing innovation.
