Listening and Leadership

Thanks to Joe Gerstandt for pointing me to an article by Otto Scharmer on the "Blind Spot" of leadership. Honestly, I get mixed feelings when I read articles like this. At one level I am very excited by the depth and power of what Scharmer has written. I think it's spot on and very important. But at another level I'm a bit saddened by the fact that I don't think it would be taken too seriously by many existing leaders who would write it off as "touchy-feely." Though the reason for that gets right to the heart of the article: listening.

Listening, it turns out, is critical to leadership:

At its core, leadership is about shaping and shifting how individuals and groups attend to and subsequently respond to a situation. But most leaders are unable to recognize, let alone change, the structural habits of attention used in their organizations.

Listening is the key. Scharmer identifies four different levels of listening:

• Listening 1: Downloading. Confirming what you already know.
• Listening 2: Factual. Looking for (and open to) new information.
• Listening 3: Empathic. Really listening from the speaker's perspective, not yours.
• Listening 4: Generative. "Listening from the emerging field of future possibility."

How many of you, by the way, scoffed at the phrase "listening from the emerging field of future possibility" because it sounded like consultantspeak or because you didn't already know what it really means? That's Listening 1: downloading. Stop here and go read the article. But go into it with an open mind (and, as the article asks, an open heart). See what emerges.

Because don't forget that listening ties directly to action and getting things done. I also love this quote from the article about "playing the macro violin," a code phrase for performing and getting things done:

Most systems, organizations, and societies today lack the two essentials that enable us to play the macro violin: (1) leaders who convene the right sets of players (frontline people who are connected with one another through the same value chain), and (2) a social technology that allows a multi-stakeholder gathering to shift from debating to co-creating the new.

Hmm. Connecting...listening...co-creating...Maybe those social media folks are on to something here?

Comments

[Shilpa Alimchandani]

Thanks, Jamie, for initiating this conversation. I enjoyed reading Scharmer's article. I think such writing is labeled "touchy-feely" because, at its core, it comes from a spiritual perspective. Much of what Scharmer writes about is rooted in eastern philosophy. I've been reading a lot of Buddhist books recently, and Scharmer's work clearly builds on that rich spiritual tradition. (He even references "The Legend of Bagger Vance" which is based on the Hindu epic, the Bhagavad Gita.) Specifically, I've found the work of Pema Chodron (When Things Fall Apart) and Tara Brach (Radical Acceptance) to be both insightful and accessible. So, for those who are looking to further develop their "empathic" and "generative" capacities, I'd recommend reading Chodron, Brach, and also Jack Kornfield (whom I heard speak at workshop recently).

[Jamie Notter]

Amen Shilpa! (pun intended) I appreciate your insight. I'm a big fan of Chodron as well.