Leadership Skill: Listening

Category: Leader Skills

Communication, an essential part of church leadership, makes such a difference in a leader's effectiveness in other skills. By communication we are referring to not merely transmitting information but exchanging information which requires that leaders also become good listeners.
 
To be a good leader, you need to learn to listen both to God and to people.
 

Listening to God is a means of:

  • acquiring wisdom and understanding
     
  • discerning His heart
     
  • lining up with Him and His will
     
  • letting God know you care

Listening to people is a means of:

  • discerning needs
     
  • learning if something isn't working
     
  • acquiring new ideas
     
  • letting people know you care

Tips for listening to God:

  1. Be still and cease striving so you can hear His voice in the midst of the clutter and noise around you. (Ps. 46:10; Matt. 11:28-30)
     
  2. Wait for Him and His timing. (Ps. 5:3; 37:7; 38:15)
     
  3. Study His Word with the goal of arriving at His intent. (Ps. 19:7-11; 119:105)
     
  4. Keep pace with the Spirit who will guide and teach you what you need to know as you need to know it. (Gal. 5:25; Jn. 14:26; 15:26)
     
  5. Listen with both your heart and head, in spirit and in truth. (Matt. 22:37; Jn. 4:24)
     

Tips for listening to people:

  1. Listen before formulating what you will say. (Prov. 18:13)
     
  2. Listen to truly understand where the person is coming from. (Prov. 18:15)
     
  3. Listen to more than their words but also their body language, tone, facial expressions. (1 Cor. 12:25-26)
     
  4. Listen without bias or prejudging a person. (James 1:19)
     
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