Listening is often treated as a soft skill. In practice it is the fastest route to an accurate picture of what is happening in an organization.
Leaders who listen first hear about risks earlier, get more candid information, and spend less time undoing decisions made on partial facts.
Listen for what is not being said
Silence in a meeting is data. So is the hesitation before an answer.
Close the loop
People keep telling you things when they see what happened to what they told you last time.
