Conscious Leadership Begins with Deep Listening

Deep listening is the most underrated leadership skill in the workplace. Learn how emotionally intelligent leaders use deep listening to boost wellbeing, trust, and performance, and why it’s central to mental health training for managers.

“This is the problem with dealing with someone who is actually a good listener. They don’t jump in on your sentences, saving you from actually finishing them, or talk over you, allowing what you do manage to get out to be lost or altered in transit. Instead, they wait, so you have to keep going.”

― Sarah Dessen

Effective communication is a cornerstone of conscious leadership, particularly in fostering a supportive work environment.

As Mental Health Awareness Month approaches, it’s crucial to focus on a key component often overlooked: the power of listening. Mental health training for managers emphasises not just problem-solving skills but the profound impact of deep listening on employee wellbeing.

Are You Really Listening—or Just Waiting to Speak?

In a world where everyone wants to be heard, truly effective listening is rare. Sarah Dessen’s observation highlights a paradox: the better listener you are, the more you realise how challenging it can be to genuinely listen without interrupting, stealing the conversation, or planning your next response.

Unfortunately, many fall into these common traps.

Ways Managers Unintentionally Break Connection

People think they are listening, but instead, they are doing one of the following…

1. Interrupting to share one’s perspective: Waiting for the other person to pause or take a breath so they can jump in and say what they want to say – as Stephen Covey describes, “Most people do not listen with the intent to understand; they listen with the intent to reply.”

2. Dominating conversations: These people are what I fondly refer to as conversation hogs.  They jump in and ‘steal’ the conversation and make it all about them.  It’s generally at this point that the other person silently thinks, ‘Why do I bother telling them anything, they never listen‘.

3. Talking over others: These people don’t even wait for you to finish speaking; they simply start talking over you, demonstrating a lack of patience and respect.

4. Partial attention: Whether that’s looking at their phone, checking their emails, or emptying the dishwasher. You don’t have their full attention, and you are fully aware of that and how it makes you feel.

5. Overusing affirmations: ‘Yes, yes, yes’. As you are speaking, these people, perhaps in an attempt to demonstrate that they are listening, keep repeating the word ‘Yes’, or ‘Yep’ or something along those lines. Used too much, this attempt to indicate listening can seem disingenuous.

6. Assuming feelings or thoughts: ‘You must feel/think _______’. These people tell us what we think or feel without seeking true understanding.

7. Finishing sentences for someone: These people butt in and finish the sentence for you, and more often than not, they don’t say what you were going to say.

These behaviours not only hinder communication but can exacerbate feelings of isolation or misunderstanding among employees, contributing to workplace dissatisfaction and mental health issues.

The Missing Link in Mental Health Training for Managers

Our Mental Health Training dedicates a significant portion to cultivating the skill of deep listening. Recognising the crucial link between listening and impactful leadership, this training aims to transform managers into conduits of positive change within their teams.

Deep listening extends beyond the act of hearing words; it involves fully immersing oneself in the speaker’s world and understanding their perspective, emotions, and unspoken messages. It’s about creating a space where employees feel genuinely seen and heard, which can profoundly affect their mental health and workplace engagement.

4 Ways to Become a Conscious Leader Through Listening

1. Pause Before Responding:  Take a moment before jumping into conversations, allowing space for the employee’s message to resonate fully.
2. Practice Full Presence: Be fully present during conversations, avoiding distractions to signal respect and interest.
3. Seek to Understand: Before offering solutions or advice, ask questions to delve deeper into the employee’s experience, fostering a culture of empathy and support.
4. Acknowledge Without Assuming: Validation of feelings and experiences is key, without overlapping one’s interpretations or solutions prematurely.

The Impact of Deep Listening

Adopting deep listening can dramatically improve workplace relationships, reduce conflicts, and enhance team cohesion. Employees who feel genuinely listened to are more likely to feel valued and understood, reducing the risk of mental health struggles and increasing engagement and productivity.

Ready to Raise the Listening Standard in Your Organisation?

As one Sofology manager told us after our training:

“I’ve had conversations with people, and I’ve spoken differently… a subconscious change in myself that I’d never noticed before.”

That’s the power of mental health training for managers that goes beyond box-ticking.
We don’t just give tips—we create transformation.

If you want emotionally intelligent, conscious leaders who can create trust, not just manage performance—

👉 Let’s talk about Mental Health Training for Managers.
We'll show you how to transform workplace culture—one conversation at a time.