Active Listening Pays Off

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Are you an active listener? When your colleagues are speaking, are you thinking about what you want to or should say next? Or are you fully engaged with what they are saying now?

“Gibson, Project Engineer, for a general contractor in Salem, OR, told Session 6B of Turbo’s Leadership Development Lab (LDL):

“Levi and I have been friends for many years and regularly enjoy each other’s company outside of work. We have worked together on several construction projects over the years. The particular project we are working on now has several technical complications and space constraints, requiring very high-level construction skills. The ongoing job site frustrations, challenges, and problems led to unhealthy communication, impatience, and bad listening mostly from me. I realized that I was getting lit up very easily and had gotten annoyed with Levi many times about project problems on the job even when they really weren’t his fault. I think I was taking out all of my frustrations on him. He was doing the best he could. All my impatience did was create an unhealthy work environment that stifled his initiative, creativity, and teamwork. We were not coming up with the innovative ideas we needed to work successfully in our restrained space or creating any dynamic beat-the-bid ideas this job requires. I really need Levi’s heartfelt engagement. I began to realize it was important for me to change my listening and communication practices, I knew that our friendship was being threatened by the work constraints and challenges of this job.

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“The action I took to improve the situation was to become a more active listener(Leadership Principle #6) and I have worked at providing acknowledgement (Leadership Principle #4) for all of Levi’s efforts. I validated his ideas (Leadership Principle #8) by giving him credit for even the smallest suggestion we have been able to us on the project. While I am still working on this, the situation has shown much improvement. The project is back on schedule and progressing far more satisfactorily. Levi and I now have better conversations, less tension, and more good healthy laughs.

“The lesson I learned from this experience is that before I get frustrated with someone else, I need to begin by fixing my own problems, fixing my own style of communication and listening. I learned not to let the frustration of a difficult job spoil a long term relationship.

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“The action I call you to take is to exercise patience and develop the listening skills required to foster the construction of good relationships with all of your friends and co-workers.

“The benefit you will gain is a more energetic, positive work environment and when the day is over, you will feel much better about yourself.”

Enroll in Turbo’s Fall
Leadership Development Labs
Portland, OR / Vancouver WA

“Putting the Super in Superintendent”
Give Larry a call to schedule a
FREE 50-minute workshop
if scheduled before Labor Day

“Putting the Super in Superintendent“ is a complimentary 50-minute on-site workshop. This program brings into sharp focus the most important qualities and behaviors of the “Super Superintendent” who ensures you are the builder of choice and consistently “beat the bid.”

This 50 minute on-site workshop features all of the “-ations” that are characteristic of Turbo Leadership Systems training:

  • engaged participation
  • pertinent information
  • results in inspiration
  • personal motivation

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