231: Great Leaders are Great Listeners
Do you tell rather than ask? Do you solve rather remain curious? Do you check out rather than lean in? The quality of your listening muscles are directly related to the impact of your leadership. Therefore great leaders are great listeners. Specifically practicing our listening skills can have direct impact on in the way we lead. Tune in to hear specific steps to fine tune your listening and leadership skills! QuotablesWhen we put our time and attention into something and we practice it often enough and become really good at it, it then becomes a strength. So why are we frustrated when we find a weakness? We know what we have to do to strengthen it. If we want to make a long lasting impact, where folks continue to use their gifts and talents to make our field better than we have to tune into what's really happening. Listening is the only way to restructure and rebuild. Our model of great listening then translates to the teachers in the classroom and to their students.What if someone invested in you so much that they didn’t let you give up on yourself? Wouldn’t you come out of your struggle faster? Be the coach you wish you had.Listen by digesting what others are saying by not interjecting. Sometimes people just want to be heard.Show up as you are. People just want you to be beside them.Proximity and eye contact are important for closing the gap between you and the other person. Lean in and notice the cues of what they are saying head to toe. Shut up. Pause. Wait. Allow them to share more and encourage dead time.Rarely people need you to tell them what to do, they just need to talk it out. Follow through on your end of the bargain. Do your part. Following through makes people think you know care and they are valued. Pick one behavior and start there. Go hard in this one area and have a weekly check-in with your progress. Practice is the only way to grow. Links Mentioned in the EpisodeHow Great Leaders Learn ListensJoin the Always A Lesson NewsletterJoin here and grab a freebie!Connect with GretchenEmail: gretchen@alwaysalesson.comBlog: Always A LessonFacebook: Always A LessonTwitter: @gschultekInstagram: Always.A.LessonLinkedin: Gretchen Schultek BridgersBook: Elementary EDUC 101: What They Didn’t Teach You in CollegeLeave a Rating and Review:This helps my show remain active in order to continue to help other educators remain empowered in a career that has a long lasting effect on our future.https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/always-lessons-empowering/id1006433135?mt=2Search for my show in iTunes or Stitcher.Click on ‘Ratings and Reviews.’Under ‘Customer Reviews,’ click on “Write a Review.”Sign in with your iTunes or Stitcher log-in infoLeave a Rating: Tap the greyed out stars (5 being the best)Leave a...