Last week I attended some company training which is being rolled out to all employees. The corporation I work for wants employees to adopt some specific principles and practices in order to improve communication and work flow up and down the chain. It is interesting that most of the principles are biblical and ones we should already be following. One of the principles includes listening generously to each other and paying close attention to what the other person is saying. Listening does not always require us to respond or to solve something, but we should at least acknowledge what was heard.
There are many things that interfere with genuinely listening to someone, but most often it is due to filters. Filters impact how you listen and what you actually hear. Filters include thoughts such as “I’m busy”, “I already know”, “how am I going to respond”, “I understand”, “I know what you are going through”, and “how can I fix this”. These and other filters prevent us from giving proper attention to what the other person is saying and their message can be lost. I sometimes find myself thinking ahead while someone else is talking and often miss details.
When we are able to give consideration and full attention to others speaking to us, we will become much better listeners.
“Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another;” Romans 12:10
“Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.” Philippians 2:3-4
Let us strive to be better listeners for each other. Remove filters that keep us from hearing what the other person is saying. Listen by paying close attention. And remember it is not always necessary to solve the issue at hand, the person may simply need to share something with you. I often fail, but I am committed to improving this skill.
For the elders, Terry Clark