Curiosity
By embracing curiosity, I have learned to transform setbacks into valuable learnings, including revising the method and timeline in delivering a pilot program to my organization. By digging into learning, curiosity, and experimentation I am reaching people who have a powerful desire to learn more about listening, and how these skills will aid in continually contributing to a healthy organizational community.
Authentic Listening
“… the first step in good communication, anywhere, is listening” (Greenleaf, 1996, p. 211).
The foundational competency in my leadership project includes listening authentically – inwardly and outwardly. I utilized my own (continual) journey of becoming a better listener – sharing my experience with others to build trust with my colleagues and develop the framework and scope for the project. Authentic listening means to listen carefully to one’s inner dialog and being attentive to what is being said (and not said) by those around us.
Reference: Greenleaf, Robert. (1996). On Becoming a Servant Leader. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass
Vulnerability
“… exposing our reasoning is threatening because we are afraid that people will find errors in it” (Senge, 2006, p. 233).
While developing the project, I dove deep into my leadership philosophy including “vulnerability with confidence”. Sharing my observations on gaps in how we communicate as an organization required coming from a place of confident vulnerability. Some leaders may disagree that they (and their teams) can benefit from a program centered around continually developing their listening skills.
Reference: Senge, P. M. (2006). The fifth discipline. Random House Business.
Building Community
I have used the idea of “communitas”, or building a “…particularly rich sense of community” (Trujillo, 1992, p. 369) by sharing how authentic listening can contribute to a climate of trust, safety, and collaboration. Through a series of informal interviews with several of my colleagues, many shared the desire to build a stronger organizational community through listening and improved communication.
Reference: Trujillo, N. (1992). Interpreting (the work and the talk of) Baseball: Perspectives on Ballpark Culture. Western Journal of Communication, 56(4), 350–371.
Communication
Authenticity, vulnerability, collaboration are all imperative to the leadership competency of communication. Through this project I have learned to finely tune my communication methods – especially while gathering support for a pilot listening program to be launched in our organization. Developing flexibility and adaptability in how I communicate has been vital as I work with different areas of the organization to ensure that participants see and feel value in the experience.
