Good leadership is like good sales, you make more progress when listening than while speaking. You are only a leader if you can engage people to follow you. They follow you because of who you are, but they stay with you because they feel significant under your leadership. Humans have an innate need to feel heard. Listening is crucial in this exchange – it is also free, low-calorie, and OSHA-compliant. Communication is your primary tool, but it is a two-way street. Many confuse leadership or a leadership title with being handed the microphone and that you have to constantly fill time with your voice. Asking, facilitating, and coaching can all be successfully achieved by extracting instead of by telling.
