Listening to Unlock Potential

One of the most fulfilling things I’ve had the privilege of experiencing in professional career (and personal life, too) has come as a direct benefit of the power of paying forward the many lessons mentors have provided for me, specifically in seeing measurable growth with those that have latched onto anything I’ve been able to share. Since much of the support I provided for other facilities across North America was before social media became mainstream, I wasn’t able to maintain contact with everyone I worked with in the different locations. I do know that many of them earned promotions as a direct result of their work applying those behavior-based safety concepts. The folks on our local steering committee were a different story; I’m in touch with many of them routinely still today, and I get an occasional update on the successes others have accomplished even in the cases where I’m not in close contact. By working closely, even in short spurts, with each of them, I was able to uncover their strengths. Had I understood just a fraction of what I do now about the DISC Model of Human Behavior, I could have taken a more active approach in listening to them, which would have enabled me to provide them with better development.

Most of the development I offered each, whether they were across the country or in the same building, was based far more on analyzing the things I saw them do (their behavior) than on what they shared with me. As powerful as studying behavior is, it requires time; time that can be saved when we’re willing to listen deeply. My immediate supervisor for more than a decade was an outstanding example of this. That said, he used that skill in a specific way that earned my trust immediately so we’ll look at that in more detail soon. For our purposes now, I’ll provide a more recent example. I shared earlier how much value I’ve gained through my relationship with Chris Rollins since the initial onboarding process with Maxwell Leadership in the spring of 2015.

In just our very first interaction, I experienced the feeling of being heard. His role at that point was to help me identify what I would focus on and how I’d then use the training that program offered. We connected immediately, both of us were very fast-paced and task-oriented, and we both enjoyed having some fun in the process - as long as there was forward progress! But the thing that caught my attention was how intentional he was in genuinely listening to how I responded to his questions. While most of the onboarding process was scripted - 15,000 others worldwide had gone through some version of it at that point - it was clear that Chris was actively listening to me and the few others participating in that series of calls he hosted.

Fast forward more than a decade, Chris and I have developed a strong professional and personal relationship, built on the foundation of how he actively listened early on and was able to help me identify a path for reaching my potential. Since then, he’s been the primary mentor for how Cindy and I have been able to build tools based on the DISC Model of Human Behavior into nearly every lesson we write or keynote presentation we deliver. Even as an extremely high D (DRIVEN behavioral style), Chris provided a tremendous example of how active listening can be practiced in order to unlock others’ potential and enhance their leadership ability. Had I known how to do that same thing years earlier, I’m confident that I could have had an even greater impact on the folks I worked with in behavior-based safety - and faster!

Before circling back to how Kevin applied his approach to active listening that earned my complete trust so quickly, I’ll challenge you to find an opportunity to practice active listening in one conversation today. As you do that, be sure to summarize the points that person has shared with you to ensure understanding. Then let me know how much more influence that helps you earn with them…