The executive’s guide to better listening

Association for Project Management, Best Practice Groups (SIGs), Competence, NLP, NLP4PM, Peter Parkes, project management, Values and Behaviours

The executive’s guide to better listening

As the author of the linked McKinsey report says, we think that we are good listeners, including in the case of the executive described, and don’t accept the need to change, let alone go about it. Once people have realised that they are not good listeners, they hungrily devour techniques to fill that vacuum.

I had someone on one of my NLP4PM courses last month who had been told in formal feedback that they were a poor listener, which they struggled to accept. When we modelled traits of good and bad listeners, and then went back to tick off those that we exhibited as individuals, they were able to score off 19 from 20 traits of bad listeners. This moved them to the stage of ‘conscious incompetence’, and helped them to become receptive to take on the traits and behaviours of good listeners, some of which are described in the linked McKinsey article.

Are you a good listener?

An extract from this blog was published by McKinsey.

Dame Sue Ion FAPM honours Sir David Higgins

Dr Peter Parkes

Dr Peter Parkes is the MD of Peak Performance and main board director of the Association for Project Management (APM), with whom he is Board Champion for best practice groups. He holds fellowships with: APM, BCS, IC, CMI and RSC. He is an NLP Master Practitioner, trainer, coach and the author of 'NLP for Project Management'. He is an established international expert and speaker, contributing to several Masters programmes and regularly speaking at international conferences and workshops.