“Listening isn’t just hearing; it requires the willingness to entertain other viewpoints — especially opposing ones.”
– Ram Charan, Leadership “guru,” in a November, 2013 interview with Harvard Business Review
There’s a marked difference between hearing and listening — no shocker there, right?
The will to focus on either, let alone both, however, is often lacking — in us, and in those for whom we seek to make a difference.
Perhaps even more important than open ears is an open mind — and the willingness to entertain the concept that we may be wrong, or at least that we may only be partially right.
When we listen for meaning, we hear more than words. We hear ideas. We hear concepts. We hear with a level of engagement that simply gives us no choice but to be drawn in — and to focus on an outcome that is meaningful — that may well make a difference.
How willing are we?
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