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"Listening
Generously is an extremely active game . . . It
turns the simple act of listening into a practice
of discernment. If I work hard at letting my employees
know that I'm listening - and I try to do that
by asking some good questions as we go along -
that kind of shocks them into the reality that
'wow he's really listening to this!’ One
of the great things about The Collaborative Way,
in my experience, is that it's one of the few
things that you can learn in business and then
apply to your whole life."
- Ross Myers (CEO, American Infrastructure) |
| Implementing
The Collaborative Way
For more than a decade, Lloyd Fickett &
Associates has been supporting companies
in implementing The Collaborative Way. These
already successful companies had reached
a point where the owner or company leaders
recognized that to realize their vision
for the company and/or meet perceived threats
from an increasingly competitive marketplace
they needed a more powerful way of working
together. Through practicing The Collaborative
Way, our clients have gained the competitive
edge they were looking for.
You
are invited to contact
us to explore how we can work with you
to produce this result for your company.
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| Listening
by Habit
A major source of lost productivity stems from
how we tend to listen to each other. Listening
by habit too often dominates our communication:
When conflict arises, we get locked into our point
of view, only able to hear what supports our viewpoint.
When collaboration is called for, we often set
our arguments against each other and persist in
trying to sell our ideas. In this environment
of listening, mistakes and misunderstandings thrive,
and energy, resources and time are wasted. However,
if we break from our habits of listening and engage
in the practice of Listening Generously, conflict
and collaboration can play their essential roles
in a company’s success. We can then begin
to steer ourselves from no-win situations into
courses of action that provide greater productivity.
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Listening
Generously
The practice of Listening Generously addresses
the shortcomings in the way we normally listen.
However, a few good listeners in an organization
are not enough. The key is establishing an environment
of mutual support throughout the company for the
practice of Listening Generously. When we are
listening generously we are: |
- Giving
our full attention to the speaker
- Curious
and willing to be influenced
- Setting
aside our prejudices, preconceived conclusions
and judgments
- Not
waiting for an opening to argue our point or
thinking of our rebuttal
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"The
challenge is to remain present and focused as
someone else is talking. My inclination has been
to do many things at the same time: to be working
on my computer, planning out what I'm going to
be doing after this conversation, to think about
whose call I have to return. I find that it takes
a lot of rigor and a lot of concentration to stay
focused on a conversation, especially when I have
some history with someone. I find that I’m
filtering what they’re saying to me and
trying to manage what I’m going to say back
rather than staying present and being curious."
- Larry Friedman (VP of Operations, RSI)
Company-wide benefits of the practice
of Listening Generously |
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Better ideas and more informed decisions that
are implemented more quickly
- Productive
use of conflict
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An energized workforce
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Fewer mistakes and misunderstandings
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Greater understanding of customer needs
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".
. . I was telling someone else in my company about
how I felt about an exchange. He said, ‘You
sound pretty defensive at the moment. I wonder
how you're listening?' So we used The Collaborative
Way. When they pointed this out to me, I said,
‘Oh, yes. That's it!' And then I read it
in a whole different way and had a new conversation
with completely different results."
- Steve Hutton (President, The Conard-Pyle Company)
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