267: Leaders Must Listen More

<p style="font-weight: 400;">Dynamic, powerful, driven, single-minded leaders get stuff done.  They are resourceful, disciplined, patient, highly demanding of themselves.  They are often poor listeners.  They are so focused on making things happen, getting decisions executed, pushing through, that conversations become monologues rather than dialogues.  They are so into their thing, that they want to talk about that and not much else.  Often they are the founder of the business or someone sent in to turn it around.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Crash through or crash is tattooed on the inside of their brain.  In Japan, if you are an entrepreneur, then you have additional hurdles to overcome.  The process of overcoming them sets up a style, a default operating procedure where you have to push like crazy to get anything done in this country. </p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">The danger is the under done listening component of the skill base can be denying access to opportunities.  Vital information isn't being processed.  This is because the leader is only operating with a push out approach and no or very little drag in.  Rather than carefully listening to the client, the dynamic leader wants to tell the client about a whole range of exciting things coming up.  The powerful desire to drive through is not free. Missing clues, hints, subtle references has an opportunity cost. </p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">Because these leaders are so result focused they have pretty low self-awareness.  They are oblivious to the signals. They just don't see their listener’s frustration with being assaulted with all of this energy, passion and commitment.   All good things, but usually good things for us but of relative interest to the listener who is also selfishly self absorbed.  They want their moment in the sun too, but they don't get it.</p> <p style="font-weight: 400;">In sales we say "selling isn't telling" and leaders are salespeople.  They are selling a vision for the future, a direction, a corporate culture, a business