How can you identify and address barriers to active listening in your team?

An example I have to share here is in my previous company there were teams where the manager thinks that they were the supreme power and were associates and team members suggestions were not valued or considered. I started an experiment with my team where twice in a week I used to have a team meeting with my team where I gave chance to each and every members to speak and share their views and empower them to provide some suggestions or share pro tips which each individuals uses in their closings and they shared their rockstar sales tips which was achieved by every one in the team.Soon it was seen that my team shown some great achievements like team with best revenue, inputs, attrition and culture.

To identify and address barriers to active listening in your team, it's important to create an open and communicative environment. First, encourage team members to speak up and share their thoughts. Listen to what they have to say about the challenges they face when it comes to active listening. Preconceived notions and biases can also hinder active listening. Impatience is another barrier. Remind the team that it's okay to take a moment to process what's being said before responding. Regularly assess how well the team is doing with active listening. This helps in tracking progress and making necessary adjustments. By fostering open communication and awareness, you can create a team that excels in active listening. Always lead by an example

One the best practices that I have implemented is Listening to Understand not to Respond whenever there are a situation that I needed to understand the barrier of my staff development that he is facing and I know the solution for it. That gain me another prospective of the barrier and another level of the solution that can to it that will enable both of us to work on it and give my associate the inclusion feeling from me.

Keep your conversations simple and silly (light with humor and examples), repeat and check for understanding. ....................................

Place myself in the opposite place in order to understand and internalize their needs, fears and concerns to try to take them out of context and establish a more sincere and trusting communication.

- In my experience based on the current company situation, teamwork is very important. The way the to work together, one goal together, let everyone involved together, so we can listen from them.

Invoke your team in the teaching process. Learning together as you teach fosters ownership for more team members throughout the process.

In my experience, having consistent standing 1:1’s with each of your staff members is a good way to carve out time to actively listen to each of their own perspectives, obstacles or any barriers they are experiencing. Ensuring them their input is valuable and having an open door policy with all staff members gives them the trust to express their feelings, comments and concerns. Open communication and Transparency is key. Building the best processes for your company should always start with the people that do the actual work day in and out - to truly find the best way to streamline and improve from the bottom up.

You have 3 levels of listening: listening to answer, listening to deeply understand and listening to deeply understand but also sensing all of what is happening for the person you are listening to. We spend most of our time on the level 1. Focusing your attention on the person and accessing level 2 and 3 can really make a difference.

I agree 100% as I struggle with external distractions, especially as I can't work with music and too many open tabs on my PC pull my focus, so I close them for better concentration. Additionally, I sometimes have to resist the urge to check my phone during calls, recognizing it as another distraction! I've learned to signal my engagement in conversations with eye contact and nods, ensuring I stay present ☺️

Totally agree As active listening can develop your skills way faster and a lot of treasures people throw while they are talking

In my experience minimising external distractions while listening to people is so extremely important. It gives you a chance to grasp all the important details of a conversation AND more importantly it allows you to read a lot from people's body language that reveals even more...it tells much about what people really want to share with you besides all the spoken words.

Minimizing external distractions can be difficult if you work in plants or environments with open floor plans. You may have to deliberately shut off these distractions by consciously turning off device notification sounds and and maintaining your focus when in conversation with colleague's. You can also decide to have conversations in places where distractions of any sort are minimized.

As a second language learner, I often find it challenging to understand my manager because of distractions. To deal with this, I use a technique similar to Photoshop’s blur function. I tune out everything but their words. What I’ve discovered is that active listening is the secret sauce. When I actively listen, it’s like sharpening my focus. This not only helps me grasp every word but also shows others I truly care about the conversation. For me, communication is like turning information into data, and active listening is the tool that makes it happen.

Some distractions, like noise, calls, some other tasks, make it hard to focus on things which are important. To avoid these distractions, you should make a conducive environment for listening, such as choosing a place where you can spend some in silent zone, turning off notifications. You can share or signal to others who you are listening to, by making eye contact and nodding.

Paying 100% attention by putting aside every other thing to enable you focus on the issue at hand. Preparing ahead by giving yourself a time schedule or setting aside a specific period for such matters to enable you give 100% attention.

This can be a difficult one especially if we are online the whole time. We can easily be distracted by a Teams message or email that pops in. It has taken practice to switch off to all of those things while in a meeting with someone. Looking into the person's eyes helps me a lot

People are often not aware of their emotions. Various situations happen every day, what is needed is that we have to be aware of our emotions and start from peace. It is not always easy, but it can and should be worked on.

First, recognise that having your own emotions and biases doesn’t equate to always being right. You don’t need to share the same beliefs as others, but true understanding and respect come when you listen with an open mind. Listening is an art that improves with practice. Set aside your ego and foster a culture of constructive challenge. Only when people feel free to express their truths can your listening evolve to a deeper level of understanding.

When emotions and biases interfere with our ability to listen and manage people then there is still some work to be done on your side. To manage emotions and biases, one has to focus on the tasks at hand and how to effectively resolve issues without involving emotions or biases. The best way to handle this is to always look at things from the other persons perspective and not just your own

Emotions play a vital role and can interfere with your ability to listen objectively and calmly, you might get angry, defensive, or impatient when someone disagrees with you, or you might judge someone based on their appearance, or the way they speak or behave. To manage your emotions, you should try to calm yourself before engaging in a conversation or any such thing which you are not used to.

Let me tell you a story about how I learned to overcome external distractions and create a better listening environment. In a bustling office, I had a big problem – I couldn't concentrate on what my coworker, Drishty, was saying. You see, there were phones ringing, emails pinging, and people talking all around us. It was as if my brain was a pinball machine bouncing from one distraction to another. I realized that I needed to find a way to overcome these external distractions and give Drishty the attention she deserved. So, I decided to make a change. I invited Drishty to a meeting room, away from the noisy cubicles and chattering colleagues. This was my way of creating a conducive environment for listening.

One thing I have always found helpful to overcome emotions and biases when listening to people is to first and foremost focus on myself. It is so important for me to be in a calm state before interacting with people. This calm state can be achieved in a very fast manner with specific resilience methods. Only in this state I can make sure to listen respectfully, unbiased, open-minded and appreciative. In difficult conversations I like to reflect back the essence of what I understood and thus ensure mutual understanding.

Of course, it is always necessary to confirm understanding by summarizing and paraphrasing the agreement in order to eliminate the possibility of misunderstanding. From my experience working in a call center with big groups of people, implication is by no means the same as understanding.

Having taught for a number of years and assessed people delivering content to students, one of my main points would be asking a group if they understand. No response in a group situation does not mean that the the group have actively listened and may not understand. Questioning and small talk times are your strongest tool to facilitate discussion and understanding and overhear and engage with the participants on a smaller scale

Always ensure that you repeat what you understand by what was said to you to confirm that what was said and what you understood by what was said are the same. This will reduce the incidences of misunderstanding and also foster openness and trust in conversations and the possibility of misunderstanding is eliminated.

One thing I found helpful is note taking. I found when working with new team members its important to take notes. Identifying your team or colleagues manorism. I practice allowing everyone to speak an opinion on the subject at hand. New team members may not always welcome the spotlight. It's important to learn that each person works in their own pace. It's essential to be inclusive and open to people's comfort zone. Asking everyone on the call or group "Does anyone have any questions?" or "Did the message make sense to everyone?". Put the effort to not make anyone feel single out in any conversation. I can achieve these goals by writing notes on team or colleagues participation. This approach does take time.

Another important barrier to active listening is making right/ wrong assumptions or misinterpreting what someone is saying. To prevent or overcome this, you should always clarify and confirm your understanding of the message, such as by asking open-ended questions, summarizing, or repeating key points. You should also encourage the speaker to clarify and confirm their understanding, and to correct any misunderstandings or errors

I used to face this problem very often... To overcome the barrier of making assumptions and misinterpreting, use techniques like asking open-ended questions, paraphrasing, summarizing, and repeating key points. Encourage the speaker to confirm your understanding and correct any misunderstandings.

At starting of my career I realized that I was interrupting the conversation with my seniors and it was not professional at all....To maintain respectful and effective communication, it's essential to avoid interrupting or distracting the speaker. Wait for them to finish their point before responding, steer clear of changing the subject, making jokes, or offering unsolicited advice. If you accidentally interrupt or distract someone, acknowledge and apologize for it, and invite them to continue their message.

Once, I found my team struggling with communication. To improve, I decided to practice active listening regularly. I tuned into podcasts, attended webinars, and focused on truly listening in meetings. Seeking feedback and reflecting on my listening habits, I grew as a listener. Our team's motivation and performance soared as we communicated better, thanks to the power of practiced listening.

It's important to look out for things that aren't being said. Be mindful of situations where some individuals may be pursuing an agenda most aligned with their vision/personal preference. Observe/be aware of the rank of the speaker, the way things are being said and the impact it has on the overall energy, flow of discussion and the ability of others to contribute. Look out for the unofficial ground rules, they are likely to be there while not being declared.

A escuta ativa acontece afinada com outros sentidos, que devem estar ativos igualmente, na intenção de gerar uma poderosa conexão com o outro. Comece a escutar tendo o olhar ativo. Olhe nos olhos, perceba se seu interlocutor te olha de volta ou desvia o olhar. Observe a postura, se está confiante ou se é tímida. Esses pontos são importantes para o início da escuta. No caso de sinais de insegurança, ofereça um chá, um café. Ao oferecer algo saboroso, você está proporcionando um estímulo positivo para o paladar da pessoa, o que gera sensação gratificante. Ofereça uma mudança de local,se for o caso, o que demonstra seu interesse em ouvir. Não toque em tela, papel, caneta. Todos os sentidos trabalham juntos. Agora, escute, ativamente.