Listen

"Wisdom is the reward you get for a lifetime of listening when you would have rather talked."

-Mark Twain

The benefits of listening greatly outweigh the challenges of doing so.

LISTEN: Leaders must be the best listeners in the room. Leaders must not just hear with their ears, but listen with their eyes and track body language where 65% of communication occurs. Learn this and more with University of Minnesota's Football Coach, PJ Fleck, short message on servant leadership here.

Servant Leadership

LEAD: Watch how President George W. Bush uses an active confirmation of his listening (I can hear you) to lead the crowd at Ground Zero and our Country forward from 9/11.

George W. Bush Speech at Ground Zero

LEVEL UP: Are you seeking to take your relationships to the next level?

"If I were to summarize in one sentence the single most important principle I have learned in the field of interpersonal relations, it would be this: Seek first to understand, then to be understood."

-Stephen Covey

The simple key in this statement is to listen with the intent to understand, not to reply. Learn more here in the book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.

TIP: Take notes.

Write down what you need to remember from each part of the conversation to give yourself more bandwidth to listen and understand what is coming at you next.

Stay Productive.

Joe House