Without naming names or getting into detail, I recently heard a colleague’s story about his client whose business was in trouble. Apparently, that leader was leading without listening. He made decisions without input from others.

When leaders don’t listen to their employees or outside sources, they can face several negative consequences, both for themselves and their organizations. Those consequences could be:

• Low employee engagement and morale.
• Higher levels of employee turnover.
• Missed opportunities for improvement.
• Customer dissatisfaction.
• Stagnant leadership growth.

Author, speaker, and pastor Andy Stanley sums it up this way: “Leaders who don’t listen will eventually be surrounded by people who have nothing to say.”

Don’t let this happen to you or your business.

Leadership Tip

Avoid negative consequences by committing an extra 30 minutes a week to listen to your employees, customers, and other key sources.

Even if you’re doing a good job listening now, think about the opportunities you’re missing by not taking that extra 30 minutes of focused listening. Here are a few possibilities:

• The forklift operator has something to say about the equipment, but no one is listening.
• Your customers have something to say about their satisfaction, engagement, or experience, but no one is asking so they’re not talking.
• Members of the sales team have something to say about the competition and/or market conditions, but everyone is too busy to listen.
• Employees on the manufacturing floor have something to say about working conditions, raw material quality, process improvement ideas, and more, but no one is asking the right questions.
• Your coach or mentor may have a different perspective or strategy for you to consider, but you aren’t hearing it through.

What else could you be missing?

Listening and valuing diverse perspectives is a fundamental aspect of effective leadership and organizational success. You can avoid these consequences and others by taking extra time to seek focused input from employees, customers, and external sources.