“When you talk, you are only repeating what you already know. But if you listen, you may learn something new.”

~ Dalai Lama

Sometime back, I was at a leadership offsite for a fast-growing startup. The founder had set aside time for a “listening session” with his leadership team. He opened the floor with, “I want to understand what’s blocking us. Don’t hold back.” What followed was a stream of thoughtful, sometimes vulnerable input: confusion over shifting priorities, a lack of cross-team alignment, unspoken tension around decision-making. The founder sat still, nodded often, jotted notes, and ended with, “This was super helpful. Great feedback.”

Later, over coffee, he told me, “We’re in good shape. Nothing I didn’t already know.” That’s when it hit me – he heard everything, but processed nothing. He’d been collecting data, not insight. Because he hadn’t asked clarifying questions, probed for root causes, or reflected anything back, the team felt unheard. Within weeks, key tensions escalated. What could have been a turning point became just another meeting.

In corporate life, we obsess over the art of speaking: how to pitch, how to present, how to persuade. Listening, though? That’s rarely on the syllabus. It’s almost invisible – until the cost of not doing it shows up in the form of missed warnings, disengaged teams, or delayed course corrections.

Becoming a better listener makes you a stronger leader, offering benefits such as:

• Happier teams. People feel heard and valued, increasing wellbeing and job satisfaction.
• Fewer surprises. Leaders who listen well foster psychological safety, enabling team members to sound the alarm early.
• Better mentorship. Active listening gives you deeper insights into people, so you can guide and support them more appropriately.
• Broader awareness. Paying attention to subtle messages from different people provides a clearer understanding of the overall ecosystem.
• Reduced complacency. High-quality listening is an antidote to misinformation, overconfidence and outdated ideas.

A Cautionary Tale

Kevin Sharer, the former CEO of the world’s largest biotechnology company, Amgen, has openly shared how being a bad listener cost him and his organization dearly. Recalling his early attitude as a leader, he says:

My approach was: ‘I’m the smartest guy in the room. Just let me prove that here, in the first five minutes.’

A few years after he took over the reins at Amgen, a highly profitable medication made by the company was flagged by the FDA for side-effects. This led to a sharp drop in sales, followed by mass layoffs at Amgen. Kevin started off by blaming everyone else – but somewhere along the way, he realized it was his own inability to listen that had led to the crisis. The epiphany sparked a dramatic change in his leadership style. As an article published in the Harvard Business Review explains:

Instead of thinking of eight things at once when he was meeting with somebody, he would be present. Instead of…cutting people off and telling them what to do, he would ask for context and suggestions. He also committed to establishing a regular cadence of surveys, conversations, and feedback mechanisms…so that he could better pick up on early signs of danger and glimmers of opportunity.

This week, my message focuses on what makes an active listener. While my advice is tailored for leaders, these suggestions can be used by anyone who wants to develop and harness the power of active listening.

10 Steps to Becoming a Great Listener

Here are 10 suggestions to help you hone your listening skills:

1. Reframe your role.

Listening, reflecting and asking questions can feel passive, and as a leader, you might feel like your job is to have all the answers and jump into action! Take a step back and remind yourself that listening deeply is an active leadership behaviour with real, proven benefits. Many times, the best thing you can say is nothing at all – simply listen.

2. Listen without judgment.

Coming from a place of judgment hampers our ability to listen and comprehend the situation. Let go of preconceived notions and open your mind. Focus on understanding, not on delivering an immediate verdict. Invite people to speak their mind without the fear of being harshly evaluated.

3. Be present without distraction.

Putting away screens and devices is the minimum respect we bring to a conversation. Be present and give your full attention to the speaker. Create a space for them to open up and share, and for yourself to listen and absorb. Be aware of your non-verbal cues as well: maintain eye contact and nod encouragingly.

4. Listen till the end.

Do you listen while people are talking – or do you start thinking about what you’re going to say? Even worse, do you interrupt them with a “oh, this happened to me too” story? When we start planning our own response, we miss crucial details shared by the speaker. When we turn the conversation to ourselves, we lose the chance to empathise and elicit additional information.

So, next time you find your mind or words racing ahead, hit pause. Bring your attention back to the other person and hear them out all the way to the end.

5. Summarise and confirm.

Before we can solve, we must understand – else our advice can end up being superficial, irrelevant or even counterproductive. Instead of instantly jumping into problem-solving mode, make sure you’re on the same page. Sum up the person’s message and repeat it back to them: “If I understand correctly…[paraphrase] Is that right?” This gives them a chance to confirm – or to clarify in case you’ve misunderstood something.

6. Listen between the lines.

Let’s say a team member comes to you, very upset about not being invited to an important meeting. This is where you, as a leader, must listen carefully to determine what is triggering their emotional response. Are they hurt at being excluded by certain colleagues? Are they angry at losing out on face-time with key stakeholders? Are they frustrated because their expertise would be useful at the meeting?

By getting to the heart of the issue, not only will you be able to find a more effective solution but also develop a better understanding of your team member, their character and their priorities. These learnings can guide your leadership approach towards them, from project assignments to motivation and mentorship.

7. Ask clarifying questions.

Another way to enhance understanding is to pose insightful questions. Before offering advice or sharing similar anecdotes, consider delving deeper into what the person is telling you. Open-ended questions are a good tool to gently encourage the person to share more details.

8. Don’t be afraid of silence.

Many people are uncomfortable with silence, feeling compelled to fill every pause. But what happens if we embrace silence? Brief periods of quiet can give people the time they need to gather their thoughts or work up the courage to share something sensitive. Leaders could benefit from letting the pause unfold naturally.

9. Give permission to share bad news.

What are people allowed to say – and what are they not allowed to say? Some leaders react harshly to bearers of bad news. When those who raise concerns are reprimanded and punished, either overtly or more subtly, people get the memo: only good news is welcome. As a result, small problems fly under the radar unchecked, snowballing into crises that can derail the entire organization.

For leaders, part of being a good listener is making it safe for team members to bring up doubts and uncover blind spots. Without this, the gap between your perception and reality could widen into a chasm, leaving you trapped in a fog of toxic positivity.

10. Listen to the ecosystem.

Kevin advises leaders to take their listening skills one step further and tune in to the wider environment in which they operate:

Signals come to you with varying intensity from varying sources – in a comment from an FDA regulator, during conversations with the board, in stories in the press, in anecdotes that you pick up inside the company. The question is: Can you listen to it all and separate the signal from the noise?

To achieve the above, consider establishing processes that enable you to regularly listen to diverse viewpoints – team members, employees, board members, regulatory agencies, external analysts, industry experts, and so on.

By cultivating the ability to listen intentionally and deeply, we can transform our daily encounters into moments of empathy and learning. Instead of reacting instantly, we can take the opportunity to pause, expand our understanding and support our colleagues in the way that they need. Every interaction also adds to the broader picture of really what’s going on in the team and the organization.

As Thich Nhat Hanh’s words reminds us:

Deep listening simply means listening with compassion. Even if the other person is full of wrong perceptions, discrimination, blaming, judging and criticising, you are still capable of sitting quietly and listening, without interrupting, without reacting. Because you know that if you can listen like that, the other person will feel enormous relief. You remember that you are listening with only one purpose in mind: to give the other person a chance to express themselves.