25 Mar Listening as managerial competency
Managers who struggle with engagement and innovation often have one overlooked problem: they don’t listen well. How you listen determines how your team performs.
In this article we explore why listening matters, how to go about being a better listener, and being an active listener such that ideas flourish from people who feel as though they belong.
Why Listen?
The consequences of not listening are significant. Firstly, every instance of not listening represents missed opportunities for exploring an issue and for increasing a colleague’s sense of belonging and agency. We all have a feeling for what it means to “belong”, and the sense of agency we are looking for in workgroup members is related to power (as in “I am able to make changes”), confidence (I can make decisions), and ownership (I take responsibility for getting things done).
Secondly, your listening could be the difference between engagement and disengagement for a colleague. Every time you fail to listen you increase resistance to change – because nothing grows resistance like being resisted. If you won’t hear me, why should I hear you?
Listening fuels innovation by surfacing everyday problems and opportunities. In a recent meeting with an executive, an OD professional was debriefing interview feedback so that the executive could get a sense of the perspectives of people caught up in a workplace issue. The executive, under pressure to perform, contradicted every item of feedback with words like “that’s not true – let me tell you what is actually happening”. After four or five such interruptions the OD practitioner paused the session and asked for a word with the Executive. Resetting the meeting as first feedback, then sense-making allowed the executive to pause reaction and increase listening – which altered the trajectory of the meeting. As the feedback was processed it became clear that the executive was only seeing a part of the story, and the full story created a powerful opportunity for improvement. The new version of the “problem”, expanded with new insight, uncovered tremendous scope for a better way of work, solving operational issues that could result in revenue improvement for the firm.
As you can see from the story, listening does not just improve employee engagement – it also unlocks strategic insight. Developing strategy isn’t just a boardroom exercise—it emerges from the insights of those on the ground. The more managers listen, the better equipped everyone is to resolve problems and to innovate.
Building the habit: Three Steps to get better at listening
Listening is difficult because the biggest barriers come from within. Time pressure, personal biases, and the discomfort of new ideas can all interfere with your ability to listen effectively. Overcoming these internal obstacles is the first step toward becoming a better listener—and a better manager. Here are 5 “S’s” which might help, and as you explore using them you might discover a whole new world of managerial brilliance. Unlike other models of listening, our 5-S model starts and finishes with your “inner readiness”.
5-S model for practical listening
(1) SETTLE your body. Take a deep breath and check in with yourself. Are you anxious? Impatient? Distracted? A few seconds of self-awareness can prepare you to listen fully. This may be the most important step of all.
(2) SCHEDULE your time. For an unscheduled visit from a colleague, allow 3-5 minutes to get a sense of what is so important. If can’t talk now, then immediately schedule time to loop back to this discussion. A useful mantra for managers is: “My people first, my tasks second”.
(3) SCAN the conversation as a conscious listener. Use a notebook if you struggle to process ideas without speaking. Take notes of what is being said and flag questions you have, or observations. Wait until your colleague is finished talking and then respond. Do not interrupt!
(4) SAY thanks and give clear feedback on that conversation – what are the actions, will it move onto anything else – then ask for feedback from the colleague – how did it go for them? Did they feel heard, seen, respected?
(5) SIT alone, with the memory of the conversation, for another 60-90 seconds. How did you do? What was useful about the conversation? Is there anything you need to follow up on?
Listening is a powerful source of growth and development for the listener and for the people who are being heard. Few of us are as good at listening as we would like to be. Our 5-S model is built on our practice, as we learned that a team’s success doesn’t start with what you say—it starts with how you listen. Try the five-step process today and see what changes. As you Settle, Schedule, Scan, Say, Sit – you may be delighted by what you hear.
“Context Engineering” is the theme of our March 2025 conversation café. We approach the subject through a simple question – “What if we had no budget for training?” If we couldn’t spend a cent on workshops or courses, how could we still help people grow, perform, and develop in our organisations?
This shifts the focus to organisational design—exploring how we shape environments that guide behaviour, improve decision-making, and build capability. Register here to join the online café conversation and if you like our content then subscribe here for our newsletter or follow us on LinkedIn.
Written by: Craig Yeatman