I am passionate about finding examples that foster the intentional growth of leaders to serve our world.
I am constantly searching for a real-life example of leadership skills to share.
One leadership skill that is crucial is active, or as we at DSWA call it, Heart-Centered Listening.
I can usually find lots of bad examples, but thanks to McDonald’s we have a positive example that highlights some of the components of this skill in just 30 seconds.
Let’s test your listening skills observation quotient.
Watch the commercial below.
List 3 -5 essential listening skills exhibited by both people in this commercial then check your answers compared to my list below:
- Mutual greeting, smile and eye contact
- Physically turning to face each other
- Pops slides breakfast over with a smile”I brought you your usual.”
- The young man picks up his cell phone and turns it off placing it out of sight (presence )
- Pops asks “do you have to run off?” (note no judgment)
- The young man makes full eye contact, smiles and says “No, I have plenty of time.”
- Both laugh and remain turned to each other
How did you do? Did you find any others I may have missed?
My observation of this 30 seconds “learning gem“ is that both men demonstrated the intentional skills of Heart-Centered Listening which shows shared mutual respect, empathy, and presence in the conversation. This all communicated by the way they listened to each other.
This commercial is an example of what we at DSWA call “Heart-Centered Listening.”
These are learnable skills needed for all leaders (all of us) to grow intentionally and better serve.
Contact us at DSWA for training opportunities to intentionally grow as a coach and leader.