“Seek first to understand, then to be understood.”
Quote by Stephen R. Covey
I am reminded of many executive coaching projects where a considerable amount of time and attention was invested simply ‘listening’ to the client.
The individual coachees, usually senior leaders in complex, isolated roles, each had a lot to talk about and typically had nowhere else to open-up. Being able to bring all the versions and elements of their wider story together, to have a place where they could be confidentially, thoroughly and extensively listened to enabled these ‘speakers’ to gain fresh insights, enhance their understanding and make changes.
Being listened to is a highly effective key to unlocking these insights, listening is one of the most fundamental life-skills and especially so within coaching and mentoring.
In this context, I agreed with my coaching supervisor who, several years ago noted that, as coaches, we can achieve significant results for our clients by ‘just giving them a damn good listening to!’
The skills and requirements for effective listening can be demanding for the coach – the listener. But these interactions can be an especially challenging and highly impactful for the ‘speaker.’
This series explores aspects of listening within executive coaching and mentoring.
