Ethics plays significant role in our life. Moreover, it penetrates in every sphere of it. For example, successful interpersonal communication is impossible without an ethical component. In order to be a good leader or a respectful team-player you need to include ethics into your skills. One of the most important ethic skills for successful interpersonal communication is listening. According to Johnson, listening “is a key to mutual understanding” (Johnson, 2015). And without mutual understanding none of efficient team and organization can exist.
Once, I was a member of a team at my colleague that was gathered in order to create a presentation on an environmental problem issue. It is necessary to mention that our team consisted of students from different groups and nationalities. Our teacher said that it would be a great experience for us. A leader of our team was a boy from the USA. He was very self-confident and did not show any respect to other students. When we began to discuss the topic of our presentation our leader was very impatient and easily getting angry. He interrupted those who did not speak English correctly that resulted in their silence. He was not a good leader because his behavior created the atmosphere of fear and enmity that prevented our productive work. It goes without saying that our presentation was of a terribly low quality. Out teacher refused to accept it. Our team was given a second chance. The first thing we did was a fear election of a new leader. Our new leader saw the mistakes of a previous one and he chose another strategy. Each member of a team was given a chance to share his opinion with others. He used all the components of a listening process from hearing to evaluating. Moreover, we discussed each other’s words, analyzed them and came to a compromise. As far as I can see that situation today, we all were both people-oriented listeners and tried to respect each other’s opinions and not to be rude at the same time we were content-oriented because our mutual goal was to make the presentation at the highest level. With a new leader and a new approach to teamwork we finally succeeded and our presentation was ranked with the highest mark.
This example was indeed a great experience for me. First of all, it was a good illustration of the importance of a confirmation for interpersonal communication. Our first leader failed to “express awareness of the significance and value of others” (Johnson, 2015) what resulted in bad work presented. In contrast, our second leader succeeded in trust building within our team what created such relationships where everybody desired to “increase cooperation and generate benefits for the entire group” (Johnson, 2015). Careful listening was the first step on the road to success.
In conclusion I would like to say that listening is very important for those who want to know how to maintain a dialogue what, in its turn, is a very powerful tool in order to improve interpersonal communications. Efficient listening will help you to establish a warm and trusting relationship with an opponent. We may use a tool of effective listening in different situations: while communicating with our family, friends or colleagues. Moreover, a good leader must possess this skill as well. A leader should know how to show respect to his partners and create a perfect working conditions. All these are impossible if you are not a good and effective listener.
References
Johnson, C.E. (2015). Organizational Ethics: A Practical Approach. New York, SAGE.
