Do You Talk Too Much?

Much of my career as a leader has been marked by talking. As a husband, father, leader, and coach I am expected to talk.  Nearly every day, at work and home, I am explaining how to do things, answering questions, and solving problems.  Throughout the years, I have gotten to be quite skilled at talking. But as a leader I have learned that listening is often much more important than talking.  Talking too much or too quickly brings (at a minimum) the following problems:

1.  Making a person feel completely unheard

When a person needs to ask a question or discuss something, they often don’t need me to provide them with answers.  They are rather looking to process verbally and be listened to. If I quickly step in to answer their question or solve their problem I am missing the point of what is often needed – someone to listen to them rather than someone to hastily solve their problem.

2.  Solving the wrong problem

Sometimes when a person approaches me to ask a question or to discuss something I hastily throw my brilliant problem-solving skills into action.  But I then discover that the question that I was answering was not the question that the person was even asking. Many times I have found myself solving the wrong problem.

Both of these problems occur when a leader talks more than he listens. Many people seem to be completely unaware of how much they talk and how little they listen.  When a leader listens well, he is giving others the opportunity to express their thoughts, facilitating growth without a lecture, and communicating that the person’s thoughts, words, and opinions are valuable.

Great leaders listen more than they talk.

 

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Posted by Brian Howard

My focus is to help YOU move forward one step at a time. I write about church excellence, personal productivity, and family leadership. I coach leaders, start churches, and help organizations break growth barriers. My goal is to draw on this experience to help YOU move forward in life, leadership, and productivity.