Strategic Listening

Chapter 1 About Listening

DOI: 10.4324/9781003413486-1

LISTENING IN AN organizational context can be seen as something new and modern. But already in 1958, an article entitled “Listening to People” was published by Ralph G. Nichols and Leonard A. Stevens in Harvard Business Review. In the article, the researchers concluded that listening is the most critical component in organizational communication but also the weakest.¹ Although more than 60 years have gone by since this observation was made, not much has happened in this area. Listening is still neglected in many organizations, and whenever addressed in academic and popular literature on topics such as organizations, communication, leadership, and coworkers, listening is rarely the focus. ...