Listening Leaders Archived Edition

August 9, 2006

LISTENING LEADERS POLISH PERSONAL PERSPECTIVES

Listening Leaders® periodically polish their personal powers of perception by reviewing and expanding their perspectives.

At their best, effective listeners consciously understand that listening behavior is inexorably tied to their deep-seated personal perspectives. Based on one’s life-experiences, values, and belief system, listening is inevitably impacted by powerful operational perceptions, expectations and perspectives.

As a consequence, in a world filled with a variety of differences, it is important to remember that one’s "perspective" is simply a series of particular attitudes towards something, or a series of points of views that can be tweaked and polished. Although many individuals listen and look at an issue through a very narrow window, productive Listening Leaders® constantly polish and expand their perspectives by listening from different angles and to all sides of a topic.

William Blake reinforced the importance of polishing one’s perspectives when he wrote, “If the doors of perception were cleansed everything would appear as it is, infinite.” Consider the variety of views of different people on the same subject. For example, what would result if millions of individuals polish ed their perspective and position on the conflict in Afghanistan, or Iraq, or Lebanon, or the Sudan for starters. What and why do you believe what you believe? What is your perspective on stem cell research, or oil drilling, or raising the minimum wage? What about the cost of medical care and raising the gas tax? What is your perspective on executive compensation or the future of Cuba, or the up coming mid-term elections? How about pertinent issues in your family, your schools, your church, your job and your workplace, and your community? Why do you believe what you believe, and what is the impact on how you listen? Simply put, perspectives vary greatly as illustrated in the following story shared by Terry Johnston.

“It seems a very wealthy urban father took his young son on a trip to the country with the express purpose of showing him how poor farm people live.

They spent a couple of days and nights on a farm of what would be considered a very poor family. On their return trip, the father asked his son, "How did you enjoy our visit?"

"It was great, Dad."

"Did you see how poor people live?" the father asked.

"Oh yeah," said the son.

"So, tell me, what you learned from the trip?" asked the father.

With a dramatically different perspective, the son answered:

"I saw that we only have one dog and they had four.

We have a pool that only reaches to the middle of our garden and they have a creek that has no end.

We have imported lanterns in our garden and they have the stars at night.

Our patio reaches to the front yard and they have the whole horizon.

We have a small piece of land to live on and they have fields that go beyond our sight.

We have servants who serve us, but they serve others.

We buy our food, but they grow theirs.

We have walls around our property to protect us; they have friends and animals to protect them."

While the boy's father was speechless, his son added, “I never realized how rich some people are compared to us."

The upshot is simple. We hear what we are ready to hear; we understand what we are prepared to understand; we evaluate what we are able to judge, and we respond in ways that seem appropriate to us, but may not be acceptable to others. On the other hand, Listening Leaders® persistently polish their perspectives and refine their ability to listen and lead by continually asking three simple questions.

First, they ask: “What is my perspective of specific individuals, topics, and issues? Why do I hold the views I hold? How does my perspective(s) impact my listening? How can I expand my perspective(s) and enhance my perceptions?

Second, they ask: “What is the perspective(s) of those I listen to? Why do they hold the views they hold? How does their perspective(s) impact our listening? How can I expand my understanding of their perspective(s) and broaden my listening?

Third, great Listening Leaders® commit their time, effort, money, and energies into the endeavor of broadening their insight into the perspectives that impact their perceptions and behaviors, as well as the perspectives that drive the behaviors of others. As a result, they grow and profit in an enlarged environment, while others languish in a small and limited world.

LISTENING LEADER KNOWLEDGE NUGGET: Listening Leaders® invest in examining and polishing their perspectives.

Careful observation coupled with thoughtful listening can lead to modifying perspectives and taking meaningful action, as illustrated by the life of Nobel Peace Prize recipient, Henri Dunant.

As a young man, Dunant started the construction of a wheat mill but could not obtain the land concession that was essential for its operation. With the intent to obtain the business document he needed, Dunant traveled to the plains of Solferino to propose a business deal to Napoleon III.

Outside his normal environment, Henri found Napoleon moments away from entering a battle with the Austrians. Entranced by the battle, he was profoundly transfixed by the horror that unfolded below him. When the battle ended, Dunant entered the small town and dramatically and forever changed his perspective of war. Driven by compassion for the suffering that he observed, he declared the world should abolish the barbarous act of war.

Returning to Geneva, he wrote A Memory of Solferino, which eventually led to the creation of the International Committee for Relief to the Wounded, the future International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).

In the process, he became a fanatic on the need for peace, to the point that his business suffered and he was declared bankrupt in 1867. Completely ruined, he was in debt for almost a million Swiss francs.

Although reduced to sleeping on public benches. Dunant was made an honorary member of the National Red Cross Societies of Austria, Holland, Sweden, Prussia and Spain.

Yet he persisted until he changed the perspective of others which resulted in the Geneva Conference passing of the first international law against war. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, he visited and comforted the wounded that were brought to Paris, and introduced the wearing of a badge so the dead could be identified. In 1901, Henri Dunant was awarded the Nobel Peace prize, and in spite of his nearly hopeless financial condition, he donated all his prize money to the worldwide movement he had founded; the International Red Cross. To this day, the date of his birth, May 8, is celebrated as World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day. Although he died almost totally forgotten by most of the world, his perspective has positively served the world that seems to persist in the business of making war.

The key is that individual perspectives and perceptions can change as anyone who has every looked at the Fed Ex logo knows. Most viewers have never noticed the existence of an arrow that lies between the D and the X. Check it out. It has always been there and once you see it you will never be able not to see it. Like Dunant who saw war and could only envision peace, it is important to remember: perception impacts perspective and perspective impacts perception. Most important, perspective and perception impacts listening and leadership.

LISTENING LEADER TIP OF THE WEEK: Examine your perspectives on a periodic basis.

GOLDEN CIRCLE LISTENING LEADERS QUOTES OF THE WEEK:

A fool sees not the same tree that the wise man sees ~ William Blake
The surest sign that intelligent life exists elsewhere in the universe is that it has never tried to contact us ~ Calvin and Hobbes
It doesn’t make any difference what temperature a room is, it’s always room temperature ~ Steven Wright
I would never die for my beliefs because I might be wrong ~ Bertrand Russell
I tend to live in the past because most of my life is there ~ Herb Caen

A LISTENING LEADER GIGGLE:

Life is rich for the simple reason that different people hold different perspectives about different things, as illustrated by the different perspectives of some men and women.

Woody Allen observed that “Basically my wife was immature. I’d be at home in the bath and she would come in and sink my boats.”

When one of Winston Churchill’s critics accused him of being drunk, he responded with a different perspective by replying, “And you madam, are ugly; but tomorrow I shall be sober.”

Steve Martin enjoyed a special perspective with the simple thought: “I like a woman with a head on her shoulders. I hate necks.”

Whereas, Erma Bombeck claimed that she got really depressed when she watched Captain Picard on Star Trek because “Hundreds of years have passed and they still don’t have a cure for baldness.”

Perspective and perceptions come in strange ways from interesting people which only proves they are just perspectives.

A LISTENING LEADERS KUDOS:

Kudos and Congratulations to Dr. Rick Bommelje for his tireless and creative efforts in driving the creation of the International Listening Leadership Institute’s newest product: the Listening Leader’s® Behavior Inventory. The LLBI provides dramatic insights and a cutting edge that will serve every Listening Leader who is interested in expanding their perspective of listening. Congratulations Rick!

BECOME CERTIFIED TO TEACH LISTENING LEADERSHIP IN YOUR ORGANIZATION. For certification details, go to www.ListeningLeaders.com

WE ARE LISTENING and invite your action:

Together, we can change the listening attitudes, skills, and knowledge of leaders throughout the world. We appreciate and invite your assistance in expanding our listening leader’s connections. Eight simple steps in advancing this important movement include:

Buy a perspective polishing cloth
Forward this newsletter to your children, grandchildren, friends and colleagues. More important, invite them to Subscribe to the “complimentary and weekly” newsletter by going to www.listeningleaders.com
Send us your listening leader insights, examples and stories.
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Invite us to identify specific needs for listening development of leaders in your organizations.
Ask about our proven listening leader training programs and our customized in-house train-the-trainer strategies and our new Certification program.

We can help, we are committed, and we are listening.
Listen, Lead On & Make Today Count! – Manny & Rick
__________________________________________________________________

LISTENING LEADERS: THE TEN GOLDEN RULES
TO LISTEN, LEAD & SUCCEED

By Dr. Lyman K. Steil
& Dr. Richard K. Bommelje

Publisher: Beaver’s Pond Press
(ISBN 1-59298-073-2)

A pioneering book that directly connects listening with leadership.Based on more than 50 collective years of work with listening leaders throughout the world, Dr. Steil and Dr. Bommelje have created 10 practical, proven, and priceless rules to enhance everyone's listening and leadership success. Although outstanding leaders are outstanding listeners, most leaders have neglected the development of their listening attitudes, skills and knowledge.

“This is the most significant book ever written on listening and leadership and will profit leaders at all levels in all types of organizations and enterprises.” Dr. Ralph Nichols, Father of the Field of Listening

ORDER YOUR COPY at www.ListeningLeaders.com or www.amazon.com

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Dr. Lyman K. (Manny) Steil
25 Robb Farm Road
St. Paul, MN 55127
651-483-3597
LKS@ListeningLeaders.com

Dr. Richard K. (Rick) Bommelje
8530 Amber Oak Dr
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407-679-7280
RKB@ListeningLeaders.com

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