Human resources leader Karen Ahern provides comprehensive organizational development and human resources consulting at SageWorks Consulting and has found throughout her career that prioritizing the development of teams and leaders is essential in any human resources strategy to drive business objectives and achieve the best possible outcomes. Executive coaching promotes the development of critical leadership competencies, including effective listening skills.

Listening is an important part of being a successful leader in any setting. Good listening means tuning out distractions during conversations by putting your down phone, closing books and magazines, and distancing yourself from computer screens. When someone is distracted during a conversation, the speaker may feel ignored and be less likely to talk to that person again in the future.

Furthermore, good listeners must create a safe environment for the speaker. Although creating this environment is not always possible, good listeners should make the effort to keep the conversation private and try to ensure the speaker is comfortable before delving into any topic.

Good listeners should also pay close attention to the subtext and body language of the person speaking, as both are key to understanding how a speaker is feeling. For example, when a speaker avoids eye contact they may be indicating that they feel insecure even though they speech may not show this.