For example, when the second employee tells him about his son’s illness he is not able to practice dual perspective in order to understand how the employee feels and understand his concerns. Finally, he is not responding. According to Wood (2010) active listening includes showing nonverbal cues such as nodding, vocal sounds and eye contact. In his interviews, Alan does not show this nonverbal language, but he shows a rigid expression with his face and body. Describe how Alan’s opening comments in the video (his view of his job) affect his approach to the performance reviews.
Since Alan does not like to conduct these interviews, he feels stressed and preoccupied. These emotions make that he approach his job with a negative attitude that he transmit to his employees during the interviews. Moreover, Alan has assumed that the employees do not value his job. This thought does not allow him to open his mind for active listening; on the contrary, he shows a defensive attitude toward his employees. Also, he is not able to listen to his employees’ personal issues because he feels awkward.
He should consider personal issues as a big factor in job performance, when he does not listen to them; he does not understand the possible causes of bad job performance and the possible solution that he as a leader of his team should try to find for the benefit of the company. Does Alan’s view of his job foster a negative or positive work atmosphere with his employees? Explain. Alan’s view of his job creates a negative work atmosphere. A good leader should be able to practice active listening. Active listening helps to create trust and build healthy relationships at workplace.
The Term Paper on Active Listening – 1
Active listening is a structured way of listening and responding to others, focusing attention on the speaker. Suspending one's own frame of reference, suspending judgment and avoiding other internal mental activities are important to fully attend to the speaker. Primary Elements There are three primary elements that comprise active listening: comprehending, retaining, and responding. [edit] ...
Alan’s attitude generates a tense relationship between him and his employees. In the future, they are not going to tell him what difficulties they are having which can decrease productivity. Also, if Alan practice good listening skills, he will be able to have a good communication with his employees to avoid misunderstandings and confusions in the different tasks assigned. In conclusion, Alan’s listening skills can produce a negative environment that can affect not only job performance, but also emotions between his employees. Identify specific comments by Alan that show he is either effectively listening to his employees or that he is not.
It is evident that Alan is not effectively listening in both interviews. In the first interview the specific comments that prove this are: * When he tells the employee, she is too slow. She tries to give a valid explanation. Alan responds: “Look, I don’t want to lose you but you have to work more quickly. ” He does not take the time to ask question or elaborate more on his employee explanation. Conversely, she threats her about losing her job. In the second interview the specific comments are: * When the employee tries to explain him that the reason he is being absent or late lately is because his son has been sick.
He answers: “Can we just focus on the work for now? ” With this answer, Alan is not showing dual perspective and he looks uncaring about his employee situation. Using the effective listening guidelines in the text, make three suggestions that would allow Alan to fulfill his responsibility to provide employees with critical feedback about performance and to establish a supportive climate. First, Alan needs to be mindful. He needs to be present in body and mind when talking with his employees trying to clear his mind of preoccupations and prejudgments.
The Review on Employee Engagement Sheme
Chapter 1.INTRODUCTION 1.1 Concept of employee engagement 1.1.1 Defining Engagement One of the challenges of defining engagement is the lack of a universal definition of employee engagement, as a research focus on employees’ work engagement is relatively new. More often than not, definitions of engagement include cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components. The cognitive aspect of engagement ...
By being mindful Alan can show his employee his empathy and caring and provide the supportive climate they need to improve their job performance. Second, he needs to adapt listening appropriately. Alan needs to realize that he cannot listen mechanically. Each employee is different and he needs to change according to their individual characteristics and goals. Finally, needs to make the effort to engage in active listening. Alan needs to focus on what employees say, understand and interpret the meaning of their words, and with that information find ways to solve problems.
What suggestions would you give Alan about how to start interviews in ways that establish a supportive environment for interaction? First, he needs to relax because he is showing anxiety since the beginning and this affects the quality of the communication. Second, he can ease the interview by beginning with a relaxed and casual conversation about a different topic. Finally, he needs to review his nonverbal gesture in order to show a more open and relaxed attitude that gives confidence to his employees. References Wood, J. T. (2010).
Interpersonal Communication: Everyday Encounters. Boston: Wadsworth.
