Introduction
Communication occurs when two people can internalize what each of them says or implies. For this to happen, the communicators must listen to each other and provide the expected feedback. Being attentive to what others say is critical in both organizational and individual development. However, listening has been neglected as attention has shifted to other organizational variables such as productivity and profitability. Workers and management must listen to each other and become better in their cooperation in business.
Research
This section describes different aspects of listening, defines terms, enumerate characteristics of effective listening and various elements of paying attention, factors affecting people’s listening behavior, and its value to the organization and individuals.
Definition
Listening
Hearing is an involuntary action, but listening is purely voluntary. The latter requires the receiver of the message to actively process the message and respond in a manner that addresses the speakers’ needs, concerns, and questions and offers clarity when needed. After reviewing the works of other scholars, Hargie, Baverstock, and Wright (1999) identified four main types of listening:
- Comprehension listening: A kind of listening people engage in when conducting fact-finding interviews or attending lectures. It involves listening for facts, ideas, and themes, which one may find best for them.
- Evaluative listening: A kind of listening people engage in when trying to assess the merits of an interlocutor’s argument, especially where it is intended to persuade.
- Empathy Listening: it is applied when the listener tries to understand what another attempts to communicate from their perspective.
Active Listening
Active listening refers to paying close attention and reflecting on the words of the speaker. It makes the hearer consider the information by re-stating what the speaker has said, followed by a question to check for the accuracy of what they thought they heard.
Negative listening
This type of listening is identified as listening egocentrically or from a self-centred perspective, engaging in cynical attitudes such as feelings of superiority and negative behaviours.
Characteristic of Listening in the Workplace
Listening in organizations is complex and involves different elements such as focus, comprehension, body language, objectivity, and manners (Bostrom and Waldhart, 1980). Each of these elements can be employed to make communication more meaningful. In particular, the HURIER (Hearing, Understanding, Remembering, Interpreting, Evaluating, and Responding) model of effective listening can be considered a practical approach to paying attention to detail (Brownell, 1994). The model provides a step-by-step format of considering what another person says.
Factors Influencing One’s Ability to Listen Effectively
Several factors influence how people listen and respond to any particular communication. The first is pronunciation, where for every word one encounters, they must create their internal phonetic representations of how they think a term should be pronounced. The second is one’s knowledge of how sound is reduced to make different meanings of the same word. The third is concentration and attention to detail, which is critical in internalizing what one tries to communicate. When one is occupied with something else, such as music, they find it challenging to listen because their minds are engaged with other distractors.
Value of Listening in the Workplace
Listening behavior is one of the essential interactive skills for members of organizations. According to Darling and Dannels (2003), listening is perceived as one of the most critical oral communication skills in the workplace. When workers pay attention to what they are told, this act results in both organizational and individual development. Furthermore, the management must also listen to workers and address their concerns for the company to succeed.
Organizational Outcomes of Listening
Effective listening skills can help prepare quality output offering higher levels of quality service and productivity. Listening to a co-worker’s experiences, explaining a process, or the business’s needs can impact employee performance. On the other, failure to pay attention to detail or communication from employees or manager result in low productivity due to lack of motivation (Hunt and Cusella, 2009). Effective communication and feedback can serve to increase an individual’s and organizational outcome.
Organizational Relationships
Listening impacts an organization enhances collaborations among employees and management. According to Burley-Allen (1995, p. 9), “no matter what area of our business, listening improves our effectiveness.” Paying attention fosters cultural diversities and mutual understanding among workers. Successful managers use effective listening practices to observe their surroundings for different behaviors in the workplace (Kayes, Kayes and Kolb, 2005). Listening also creates a sense of security and trust among teams. According to Jonsdottir and Fridriksdottir (2020), being attentive enhances one’s understanding of the ideas and builds relationships, trust, and support necessary to solve existing problems. Thus, it is essential for management to put conscious effort to be engaged in active listening to their employees to increase retention and trust from the workers.
Value to Personal Career
Active listening is critical in an organizational setting since it enables one to develop trust, establish rapport, and show concern for other team members. Being an active listener indicates that an employee understands their profession, is transparent in their dealing with other workmates, and possesses emotional intelligence to be more productive amidst diverse worldviews, cultural differences, and criticism. Moreover, being attentive to detail results in promotions to higher levels of authority in the workplace.
Conclusion
Listening is one of the most imperative components for meeting the goals of numerous organizations, even though it has been neglected by some business leaders. Paying attention impacts both the organization and individuals. Managers and workers benefit more from listening to each other and developing their collective goals. It is perceived that being more mindful and showing undivided attention and hindrances help leaders to express their words and connect with employees.
References
Bostrom, R. N. and Waldhart, E. S. (1980) ‘Components in listening behavior: the role of short-term memory’, Human Communication Research, 6(3), pp. 221-227. Web.
Brownell, J. (1994) ‘Teaching listening: some thoughts on behavioral approaches’, The Bulletin of the Association for Business Communication, 57(4), pp. 19-24. Web.
Burley-Allen, M. (1995) Listening: a self-teaching guide. John Wiley & Sons.
Darling, A.L. and Dannels, D. P. (2003) ‘Practicing engineers talk about the importance of talk: a report on the role of oral communication in the workplace’, Communication Education, 52(1), pp. 1-16. Web.
Hunt, G.T. and Cusella, L.P. (2009) ‘A field study of listening needs in organizations’, Communication Education, 32(4), pp. 393-401. Web.
Jonsdottir, I.J. and Fridriksdottir, K. (2020) ‘Active listening: is it the forgotten dimension in managerial communication?’, International Journal of Listening, 34(3), pp. 178-188. Web.
Kayes, A.B., Kayes, D.C. and Kolb, D.A. (2005) ‘Experiential learning in teams’, Simulation & Gaming, 36(3), pp. 330-354. Web.