---
title: Listening
description: "Big Blue Box
Coaching
Exploring the power of listening in executive coaching, this post examines how effective listening unlocks insights, enhances understanding, and fosters significant change in senior leaders."
---

# Listening

![Chris Dyson](https://app.hubspot.com/settings/avatar/3b73c18fbf3403120e47268de464ec17) [ Chris Dyson ](https://thebigbluebox.co.uk/leave-it-better/author/chris-dyson)  2024/12/06

- [Leadership](https://thebigbluebox.co.uk/leave-it-better/tag/leadership)
- [Mentoring](https://thebigbluebox.co.uk/leave-it-better/tag/mentoring)
- [Coaching](https://thebigbluebox.co.uk/leave-it-better/tag/coaching)

 

*“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.

 

## Read On

##### [Listening: Using Emotional Intelligence](https://thebigbluebox.co.uk/leave-it-better/coaching/listening-using-emotional-intelligence)

This short series of posts examines listening skills through the framework of emotional...

##### [Listening: Using Emotionally Intelligent Social-Awareness](https://thebigbluebox.co.uk/leave-it-better/coaching/listening-using-emotionally-intelligent-social-awareness)

In this series I am using emotional intelligence to explore how to further enhance the coach’s...

##### [Listening: What happens when we are listened to?](https://thebigbluebox.co.uk/leave-it-better/coaching/what-happens-when-we-are-listened-to)

Listening is perhaps the single most important skill in the coaching and mentoring toolbox, it is...

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