MANILA, Philippines — I recently read a short article titled “Hearing Isn’t Listening.” Immediately I related this article to the reaction of managers of exporting entities when their workers go to them to unload their problems or discuss some company concerns and issues. Many of the managers of exporting entities can hear very well what their workers tell them but they do not listen.

Many times subordinates are turned off when their superiors do not even look at them while they (subordinates) are talking. Rightly or wrongly, this behavior of the superiors is interpreted as aloofness or lack of interest.

I will relate an incident that happened to me sometime ago. I am sure this incident also happened to many of the readers of this column. At one time, I visited an executive of an office on an official business. I have barely started talking to him - when all of a sudden he called his secretary to dictate a “short” note.

After dictating the note, the office telephone suddenly rang. The executive answered the telephone. He talked with the telephone caller for no less than five minutes. Then he suddenly turned to me and said: “Please continue.” Then two of his staff entered the room and requested the executive to sign two urgent memos. The executive took time to read the two memos. Another five to seven minutes lost. Before he can open his mouth to talk with me, his cellular phone rang. While the caller talked, the executive just listened. For about ten minutes.

I said to myself: “That must be the executive’s wife.” Who else could make the executive listen patiently for about ten minutes without saying a word? Normally, an effective listener shows some facial expressions. Not the executive. By the time he finished talking with the caller of his cellular phone, I already lost interest to talk with him. I told him I will schedule another meeting for another time. As I stood from my seat, the executive’s secretary entered the room to remind her boss of another meeting. I never went back to see the executive again.

I was also an observer of a team building session attended by the manager of a company and his staff, consisting of about twenty people. Instead of having freewheeling discussions of the issues and concerns of the staff, the manager dominated the sessions and kept talking most of the time while his staff just listened to him. The manager over-talked! While the staff appeared bored and uninterested.

It is really tragic that many managers and executives underestimate the value and effectiveness of listening. One writer once said that “listening requires paying attention, interpreting and remembering sound stimuli. Effective listening is active rather than passive. The effective listener shows interest in what is being said.

How? Through nonverbal signals; affirmative head nods and appropriate facial expressions. Good eye contact also conveys that one is listening. In passive listening, you’re like a recorder. You absorb the information given. Active listening, in contrast, requires you to ‘get inside’ the speaker’s head so that you can understand the communication from his or her point of view. As an active listener, you try to understand what the speaker wants to communicate rather than what you want to understand. You also demonstrate acceptance of what is being said. You listen objectively without judging content.”

Yes, a listening skill enhances productivity. A manager who is a good listener motivates his people; encourages them; inspires loyalty; and preserves healthy relationship within a company. An effective and active listening skill does not depend on our educational attainment. One may lack educational qualification but is extraordinarily a good listener.

Have a joyful day!