Background

We often hear from developers that their bosses do not listen to them. Even when bosses do listen, developers do not feel that their managers are really paying attention to them, but are thinking about something else. Therefore, even if a developer's proposal is well-formulated, without active attention, there will be no understanding and no decision to launch a new and risky project. In this way, countless potential corporate innovations are wasted, and employees with development ideas become demotivated after a while. In extreme cases, they may even change jobs, especially if the above situation occurs repeatedly. It is understandable that the constant pressure of deadlines and urgent and important daily operational tasks reduces management attention, but the harmful effects of this can be felt in the short term, which can fundamentally influence the assessment, evaluation and remuneration of managers. Managing the present is, of course, a priority, but ambidextrous organisations, which aim to improve efficiency and develop radical (or more radical) innovations at the same time, must inevitably focus not only on implementing and enforcing instructions from above, but also on encouraging their employees to formulate innovation proposals and then prepare for their implementation. However, encouragement is a two-way process. After tasks have been assigned, employees report on their completion and, ideally, also formulate suggestions for improvements and radical new ideas related to their work. These messages must be noticed, received and interpreted, and then feedback must be given, for which active listening is a well-suited technique.

 

Goal(s)

The objectives of the training and workshop focusing on active listening for development staff are to familiarise participants with the concept and rules of active listening, to teach them techniques that help develop active listening, and to practise correct body language during active listening.

 

Target group(s)

Managers, middle and senior managers from different departments of the company who are occasionally or regularly approached with development suggestions by their subordinates or the company's suppliers and customers.

 

Brief description of the method

Active listening is one of the most important communication techniques. The ability of managers to listen to their employees and, conversely, the ability of employees to listen actively and attentively to their managers' views and comments plays a significant role in shaping the quality of the relationship. According to communication experts, by improving our listening skills, we can significantly improve our communication and, in turn, our managerial effectiveness.

 

Active listening is when

 

According to communication theory, active listening techniques are most often used to improve personal relationships, avoid misunderstandings, reduce conflicts arising from communication, strengthen cooperation and promote understanding. When interacting with a particular speaker, an active listener can use several levels of active listening during a conversation, each of which results in a different quality of communication with the speaker. Figure 33 shows the three levels of active listening: repetition, paraphrasing and reflection (Bennetch et al., 2021).

 

 

During active listening training and workshops, participants have the opportunity to practise, primarily the use of paraphrasing. This means that they can repeat what they have heard in their own words. This can be done well if the listener has understood the message, observed its main point, remembered it, thought about it, and then repeated it in similar words. Paraphrasing can be described as explaining, describing, interpreting, rephrasing, explaining in more detail, free translation and quoting content.

 

Active listening has several key elements that help you listen to the other person and increase the likelihood that the other person will know that they are being listened to with understanding. These key elements are as follows:

 

During active listening training, participants also experience the importance of body language. In many ways, active listening is more about what does not happen than what is said. Beyond words, there are many tell-tale signs of what the speaker or listener is communicating. For example, negative non-verbal gestures should be avoided, because if you become too absorbed in yourself, others will perceive what you say as uninteresting, disrespectful and/or rude.