What We’ve Got Here is a Failure to Communicate - Tips for Becoming a Good Listener
My daughter is currently visiting Montreal. Before she left, I checked with our cell phone carrier to make sure she would have service. The kind person on the other end assured me that our plan included unlimited text, talk, and data in Canada. Unfortunately, when she got there it wasn’t working out that way. After a certain amount of data had been used, she was warned she could do nothing but call 911 (or whatever that number might be in Canada). After that I placed another call. I was again assured that we had unlimited talk, text, and data. I then asked why she was being limited. The representative then informed me, matter of factly, that the data ran out after 2 gigabytes. Of course my next question was, how is that unlimited? The representative cheerfully told me not to worry, it reset every day at midnight. I guess our definitions of unlimited are quite different. I was reminded of the classic line from Strother Martin in the movie Cool Hand Luke - “What we’ve got here is a failure to communicate.” Clearly communication was happening, but it wasn’t really working.
Good communication is one of the key factors in predicting success in the transition of any family business and one of the key traits of a good communicator is the ability to listen. The good news is that anyone can become a better listener. A New York Times article by Adam Bryant offered some helpful ideas on becoming a better listener.
Be Fully Present. Focus on the other person. Don’t think about what you are going to say next. Trust that as you are fully present you will be able to respond to what the person is saying.
No Judgments or Agenda. As you find yourself making a judgment, pause and try to put yourself in their shoes for a moment.
Show You Are Listening. Are you sitting with your arms crossed? Or are you leaning in? Nodding? Body language is important. Be conscious of the message your body language is sending.
Listen to Learn. Ask open ended questions. Try to learn something from everyone you interact with.
If You Are in Charge, Remember These Four Words. “What do you think?” Include people in the decision making process. Even if you take a different direction, if people feel respected and heard they are more likely to support your decision.
Good communication starts with good listening. If you want to succeed with the transition of your family business, commit to being a good listener.
This post is for informational purposes only and not for the purpose of providing legal advice. You should contact an attorney to obtain advice with respect to any particular issue or problem. Nothing herein creates an attorney-client relationship between Hallock & Hallock and the reader.