Take the time to listen and be attentive – Often we are so preoccupied in our “busyness” that we only pretend to listen. Take time to really concentrate. Listen with both ears. When a team member comes into your office or stops you in the hall, stop what you are doing, make eye contact, and really listen. You will be surprised how much more effective the exchange will be and how much time is saved in the long run.

Be quiet – You can’t listen if your mouth is moving, so be quiet while the other person is speaking. Wait until they complete their thought or sentence before you begin to ask clarification questions or answer the question at hand. If you rearrange the letters that spell listen, you get silent. Remember that when someone else is talking with you.

Listen with an open mind – Selective listening limits your ability to learn, grow, and achieve. Listening with an open mind increases your ability to understand and respond effectively. Your openness will create such noticeable rapport that the other person will be inclined to listen to you with equal sensitivity.

Listen for emotion – People tend to repeat those things that are important to them. Listen not only to what they say, but how they say it. Voices express emotion through pitch, intonation, hesitation, and speed of delivery. By listening to what people say and how they say it, you will discover the feelings behind the words.

Listen for retention – How often have you wanted to tell a good joke or story that you had heard but you simply couldn’t remember it? On those occasions you probably wished you knew how to increase your memory retention. Well, there is a way. While you are listening, occasionally summarize in your mind the highlights that you’re hearing. This will increase your understanding and your retention. Verbalizing your summarized thoughts from time to time throughout the conversation will also confirm accuracy.

Pay close attention to non-verbal communication – 55% of communication comes from our body language, 38% is contained in our tone of voice or how we say, what we say and 7% of communication is actually the words. When verbal and non-verbal communication conflict (saying something different than what is physically portrayed) the non-verbal will always be heard over what is said verbally. If a team member comes to you for advice and you tell them you have time and are concerned but you continue to shuffle papers on your desk, sneak peaks at your computer screen, or make side notes, what does the person really hear? Do they hear that you are truly concerned, or that you really don’t have time to listen? Body language can be subtle or very obvious and you don’t have to be a genius to read it. Recognize how the body language of others makes you feel and you will instinctively know what it means. Good communication is critical to the success of any team.

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in helping businesses achieve sustainable results through leadership development and executive coaching. For information on creating a leadership succession plan visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.

The never-ending process of making decisions continues throughout your workday. Every time an employee asks you a question like, Can I leave early to go to my son’s lacrosse game, or Mary just called off sick and we need her part of the project today, what do we do? You are making decisions that impact your team or department’s results.

Fortunately, most decisions require very little conscious thought. In fact, we actually made many of the decisions a long time ago, and we’re simply executing them now out of unconscious habit. For example, we spend little or no time deliberating what driving route we take to work, what errands need to be accomplished over the weekend, or what clothes you throw on after getting home from work.

The emotional intensity of decisions depends upon the perspective of the decision maker. To a corporate executive, a decision that involves millions of dollars can seem routine, while the president of a local service club might agonize over luncheon arrangements for 15 members. A married couple might spend considerable time and energy deciding what color to paint their living room, while a marketing executive might design packaging for an entire product line in a very short time. Your attitudes and habits influence your actions and thoughts. You can improve your decision making skills by becoming aware of the existing attitudes and habits that have shaped your decisions in the past.

Take a few moments to list some of the important decisions you made in the past five years. Evaluate the quality of those decisions.

Did they produce the results you wanted? Are there any decisions you would change?

Next examine your decision making style. Did you tend to make the decisions impulsively, or did you take time to examine all of the facts? Did you involve others, or did you decide alone? Did you make the decision in a timely manner, or did you procrastinate? Did your decisions align with your goals, or were you swayed by external influences and other people’s opinions? Were there any decisions on your list that you made against your better judgment? Perhaps you had a hunch about what you should do, but you disregarded it. How did those decisions turn out? Write down your observations. Can you identify the habits and attitudes that either helped or hindered your decision making in the past?

Over the years your personal experiences and your daily application of formal knowledge have given you a sixth sense for what will and will not work in given situations. Intuition can serve you well in decision making. Research has revealed decisions based on instinct are frequently more accurate than those based strictly on factual analysis. Your best decisions will draw upon both the logical and the emotional facets of your personality. Listen to your inner voice and be sure your decisions pass the test of plain common sense.

Passing the common sense test is an important component of making a sound decision. However, for more complex decisions there is a proven decision making process which includes six key steps. We will share more specifics on the decision making process in a future post!

Tammy A.S. Kohl is President of Resource Associates Corporation. For over 30 years, RAC has specialized in business and management consulting, strategic planning, leadership development, executive coaching and youth leadership. For more information visit www.resourceassociatescorp.com or contact RAC directly at 800.799.6227.