Over the years in my career, I noticed something about the leaders and bosses I admired. No matter how busy they were, if I stopped by for a meeting or to ask a question, they stopped and listened. They didn’t multitask while saying “Uh huh, go on,” or glance at their watches or phones, or act impatient. They didn’t look over my shoulder to see if there was someone better or more essential to talk to down the hall. They acted like they had all the time in the world to hear what I had to say, like it was important to them. I also worked with people who behaved oppositely, which unsurprisingly made me feel insignificant, hesitant, and disrespected.
The average human supposedly has an eight-second attention span. Combine that with the reality of endless opportunities for distraction, and our ability to be present and stay focused on one thing at a time is drastically affected. It requires discipline to counteract this shiny object syndrome, and one way to practice involves honing your ability to listen.