As an element of
emotional intelligence, social awareness is defined as the ability to
accurately pick up on emotions in other people and understand what is really
going on with them. This often means
perceiving what other people are thinking and feeling even if you do not feel
the same way (Goleman, Boyatzis, & McKee, 2002). Perceiving emotions in others requires much
greater listening than that done with one’s ears. Being socially aware, which is certainly a
core competency of any leadership model, requires listening and observing skills. The effective leader and the efficient
learner both understand the importance of watching and listening to people in
order to “get a good sense of what they are thinking and feeling” (Bradberry & Greaves, 2009, p. 38)
Active listening is a core element for building strong
collaborative partnerships, which is important for lifelong learning because, “the weaker
the connection you have with someone, the harder it is to get your point
across” (Bradberry & Greaves, 2009, p. 44). Based on the information process model of learning (Ashcroft, 1994), active listening therefore promotes active learning. As described by Gordan (1970), active listening requires the effective use of silence, paraphrasing,
acknowledging without judgment, clarifying, and exhibiting empathy. Covey (1989) exemplified four aspects of listening
that includes:
·
Ignoring, (obvious),
·
Pretending,
this usually involves hearing but not processing the information,
·
Selective
listening,
this involves processing only parts of the message,
·
Attentive
listening
involves paying attention and focusing on what you are hearing.
·
Traits that affect listening effectiveness were described by Pearce, Johnson, and Barker (2003), in Table 1 (as in Ladyshewsky& Vilkinas, 2011):
·
Objectivity
Staying
neutral and not getting involved emotionally, enhances listening.
|
Age
Listening
increases with age, until you get very old.
|
Open
Mindedness
Having
an open mind improves your ability to listen.
|
Level of
self-centeredness
Over-preoccupation
with self-image, knowledge or importance reduces effective listening.
|
Focus
Don't
do multiple tasks when trying to listen.
|
Intelligence
A
moderate relationship exists between intelligence and listening.
|
Level of
anxiety and stress
Stress
lowers our ability to listen.
|
Managerial
rank
Managers
tend to listen better than subordinates.
|
Presence of
problems
Diminishes
hearing.
|
Gender
Women
are generally considered better listeners; men prefer to listen to the
general, women to the details.
|
References:
Ashcraft, M.H.
(1994). Human memory and cognition (2nd Ed.). NY: Harper Collins
Bradberry, T., & Greaves, J., (2009) Emotional
Intelligence 2.0. Talentsmart
Service
Covey, S. R.
(1989). The 7 habits of
highly effective people: Restoring the character ethic. New
York: Free Press.
Dittmar, J. K. (2006, Fall). An interview with Larry
Spears: President & CEO for the Greenleaf
Center
for Servant Leaders. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies.
Goleman, D., Boyatzis, R., & McKee, A. (2002). Primal
leadership: Realizing the power of
emotional
intelligence. Boston: HBS Press.
Gordon, Thomas. (2000). 1st rev. pbk. ed edition Three Rivers Press. ISBN
0609806939
Ladyshewsky R.
Vilkinas, T. (2011). Academic leadership: Fundamental Building
Blocks for Fieldwork Coordinators [Resource book]. Strawberry
Hills, New South Wales: Australian Learning and Teaching Council
Pearce, C. G.,
Johnson, I. W., & Barker, R. T. (2003). Assessment of the Listening Styles
Inventory: Progress in establishing
reliability and validity. Journal
of Business and
Technical Communication, 17(1),
84–113.
