What do Douglas Baker Jr., CEO of Ecolab, Fred Rogers (Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood), and former US President Barack Obama have in common?
Doug Baker became CEO of Ecolab in 2004. At the time, the 80+year old company was selling industrial cleansers and food safety services to the tune of $3.8 billion annual revenue, with 10% annual growth. In 2011, Baker transformed the company which resulted in $12 billion annual revenue.
Fred Rogers, aka Mr. Rogers, cared deeply about those on the other side of the television screen—their needs, concerns, struggles and joys. He was an advocate for children, public television, and a voice for the unheard.
Barack Obama served as the 44th President of the United States from 2009 to 2019. Prior to that, he served as a US senator, a state senator, worked as a civil rights attorney, law professor, and community organizer for low-income residents. In a recent conversation at the Obama Foundation Leaders: Asia-Pacific program he spoke about his experiences and values-based leadership.
So what do these three leaders have in common? They point to listening as the key to forward progress. After listening to clients, Baker refocused their efforts to help save the planet and attained 133% of their projected growth. Rogers listened to children, changed the face of television, and transformed the lives of young children. Obama spent countless hours listening to others, inspiring trust, pulling people together, and improving innumerable lives.
Although the art of listening is frequently the difference between leadership success and failure, it is often taken for granted, and rarely taught in schools—at any level. We have an urgent need for leadership development in the art of listening.
In Summary
These articles and Article Nuggets explore leadership development and the art of listening, and how individuals and teams can improve their listening skills.
This is a brief synopsis of a 2,250-word and a 1,350-word article, and 5-Article Nuggets*, suitable for consultants’ newsletters for executives and leaders in organizations. It is available for purchase with full reprint rights, which means you may put your name on it and use it in your newsletters, blogs or other marketing materials. You may also modify it and add your personal experiences and perspectives.
The complete articles and Article Nuggets include these important concepts:
- How well are you listening? A simple listening exercise and assessment
- Why we aren’t listening
- What is the art of listening?
- How leaders can listen better
- Signs (and types) of a poor listener
- How teams can listen better with improv
Request This Content:
Send us an email and let us know if you’d like to receive this article, Article Nuggets* or Newsletter (as applicable.) It is available in the following formats:
- Leadership Development and the Art of Listening– 2,250-word Article, $79
- Leadership Development and the Art of Listening– 1,350-word article, $57
- Leadership Development and the Art of Listening– 5-Article Nuggets*, $89
*Article Nuggets: The same article broken up into 3-5 blog-style sections suitable for a series of blog posts or shorter newsletter articles.