I’m not an expert in this area and continue to be on a journey of growth to best interact, listen and lead people. For me, ‘active’ listening is participating and engaging while listening. That could mean repeating what someone told you to confirm understanding, nodding, asking questions for understanding, eye contact and staying focused on the person and what they are saying. Here are 5 benefits that come to mind for active listening for effective leadership:

1. The other person feels heard - Anyone who has their turn to talk deserves to be heard without being interrupted or spoken over. As a leader, you want the insights from your team.
2. You connect better - If you are paying attention and participating, you find ways to better connect with the person - common ground. Good leaders connect so they can take people to higher ground.
3. You can position yourself to help if needed - Active listening creates the opportunity to learn about problems and if asked, you can help. To lead people, you need to understand their challenges and be available to help them with options to overcome them.
4. You give someone a safe place - Sometimes people just need to talk. Back to feeling heard, active listening creates a place to let words flow and know they are received. Doing so, makes you available to your team.
5. You can lead - It is a privilege to be a trusted ear and in doing so, you might be able to lead that person by serving or helping them. It doesn’t mean taking over the conversation but having the privilege to serve or work together to accomplish goals. As John C. Maxwell says, leadership is influence, nothing more or nothing less. If leadership is influence, they only way to gain it is by ‘active’ listening.

Those are my initial thoughts on the benefits of active listening for improved leadership. I’m sure I’ve missed some, and eager to continue to grow in this area to improve my leadership and connectivity to people.