Secret superpower
Successful people have mastered this ability inside out
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Whether at work, in a partnership, raising children or in friendships – you can use this ability to help your success on the jumps.
Success is subjective and very individual. For some, being successful means moving up in the job and getting hold of a management position. For others it means to have a stable partnership or to see a lot of the world. And for some, success has to do with popularity. But no matter what we think of in detail when we hear the word “success”, we usually associate it with the fact that something is going well and that we are making progress – and one skill can be of great advantage here: listening!
Listening is not a given
Listening is not as easy and widespread as one might assume. “We actually never learned how to really listen,” says career coach and book author, for example Anja Niekerken in an interview with “Ze.tt“.” Even in private conversations, we can always observe that basically everyone just wants to spread their own message. “While the other person is talking, many people think about what to say next instead of really listening, or just lurk on a signal with which they can speak, plus distractions from cell phones, noise and the like.
In some cases, however, people do not want to listen to others because it is too exhausting for them: consider an additional point of view, take into account information that you would never have received without listening, possibly also address the other person – admittedly, that is quite annoying !
That is why listening is a key to success
But it is precisely these efforts that are worthwhile, because everything we gain by listening gives us advantages and helps us to be successful. After all, we can judge situations much better if we examine them from different perspectives (which, for obvious reasons, is always much easier in a team than alone!). After all, others have information for us that is relevant and can move us forward. And finally, we build relationships and trust by being responsive to others. In addition, if we listen carefully, they feel respected and in return they show us greater respect. “A person’s self-esteem increases if they listen seriously. And people with a healthy self-esteem treat others in a much more appreciative manner,” said Anja Niekerken in the “Ze.tt” interview.
Real listening establishes a respectful togetherness in which everyone benefits from everyone else and we move forward together and are maximally successful – reason enough to give it a try!
You can find out more about listening in Anja Niekerken’s book “The secret of proper listening“, published by Springer Verlag.