Previously, I wrote about clarity in communicating, this time it’s about listening. Listening is an art or you can also say that it’s a heart issue.
In leadership, it’s a pre-requisite that you have to be a listener and I was (am) not one. It’s a struggle for me to listen, but it’s very essential not only for my job but most especially as the head of a family.
I used to read magazines and newspapers cover to cover. One of my worst habits was reading while having dinner with the family. I was an expert in multi-tasking on the dinner table, talk to my wife and two kids while eating and reading. I was such an expert that my family thought that I was really having conversations. All that has changed now, at one point I almost lost them. I learned how important it is to listen to my wife and two kids, now I deliberately listen to them.
Whether be it in an organization, business, counseling, ministry or family, listening is very important. You earn people’s trust while listening. Most people need to be heard than to be taught. Be a hearer not a preacher!
The same also with our relationship with God, is it one way (just, us talking) or two way (we are listening too).