The Impact of Team Listening Environment on Team Coordination

Peter CardonUniversity of Southern California

Bryan Marshall Sally Humphries

Catherine WhelanGeorgia College & State University

ABC Asia Pacific Conference, Kyoto, JapanMarch 14, 2013

“What do you think are the keys to effective leadership?”

[The key to leading] is really being able to listen to people. So much of leadership, I’ve come to learn, is about getting a team to work together. It’s not about being smart. It helps, but it’s not about that. It’s really about being able to bring together a group of people, get the best out of them and get them wanting to work as a unit toward some goal post. I think the building blocks that go into that are listening to people, really understanding what motivates them and getting them to push themselves beyond their comfort zones. Ask a lot more questions and make a lot fewer statements. Leadership is really about asking questions and letting people answer them.

-Answered by Ms. Anne BerkowitchCo-founder and CEO of SelectMinds

Source: Adam Bryant, “Learn to Lead from the Back of the Boat,” New York Times Corner Office Blog (September 4, 2010).

1. Ability to Work with Others (93%)*

2. Listening Skills (90%)3. Ability to Influence Others (89%)4. Communicating with Diplomacy and Tact (87%)5. Managing Expectations/Managing Up (80%)6. Leadership Skills (78%)7. Understanding Problems from Diverse Perspectives (78%)8. Presentation Skills (74%)9. Networking Skills (70%)10. Writing Skills (69%)11. Meeting Management (68%)12. Negotiation Skills (65%)13. Managing Organizational Politics (65%)14. Giving Constructive Feedback (65%)15. Cross-Cultural Sensitivity (52%)16. Mentoring Skills (45%)

Source: GMAC, 2010 Alumni Perspectives Survey (McLean, VA: Graduate Management Admission Council, 2010)

Importance of Various Communication Skills for Current JobAccording to 7,674 Graduates of MBA Programs from 2000-2010

*Percentage of MBA Alumni Who Rated as Extremely Important in Their Current Job

Listening Training Makes a Difference*Study of 144 Managers and 827 of Their Subordinates

Source: Judi Brownell, “Perceptions of Effective Listeners: A Management Study,” Journal of Business Communication 27, no. 4 (1990): 401-415.

Poor-listeningmanagers

(Bottom 25%)

Good-listeningmanagers(Top 25%)

0% 25% 50% 75%

9%

58%

Percentage of ManagersWho Had Received Listening Training

As Rankedby

Team Members

*Effective listening training is primarily behavioral (not cognitive)

Poor-Listening Managers (Bottom Quartile) Think They’re Good ListenersStudy of 144 Managers and 827 of Their Subordinates

Source: Judi Brownell, “Perceptions of Effective Listeners: A Management Study,” Journal of Business Communication 27, no. 4 (1990): 401-415.

Very Poor

Poor

Fair

Good

Very Good

0% 25% 50% 75% 100%

0%

0%

6%

88%

6%

Percentage of Poor-Listening Team LeadersPoor-Listening Team Leaders are Those Ranked in the Bottom Quartile According

to 827 Work Team Employees

ListeningSelf-Rating

(1) Paying Attention

(2) Holding Judgment

(3) Reflecting(4) Clarifying

(5) Summarizing

(6) Sharing

Active Listening

Source: Michael H. Hoppe, Active Listening: Improve Your Ability to Listen and Lead (Greensboro, NC: Center for Creative Leadership, 2006).

Overview of Active Listening• Paying attention: giving undivided attention to others

• Holding judgment: making it safe for others to speak candidly

• Reflecting: paraphrasing to ensure that you understand the comments of others

• Clarifying: attempting to understand how others are connecting ideas, forming meaning, and making conclusions

• Summarizing: identifying the broad issues and key themes that others are discussing

• Sharing: expressing your viewpoints

Approach to Teaching• Class Discussion (45 minutes)

– Goals: recognize the importance of listening and conceptualize the aspects of active listening, non-listening behaviors, and obstacles to listening

• Self-Assessment (10 minutes)– Evaluate one’s one listening abilities

• Group Exercise (15 minutes)

• 7-Day Listening Journal– Reflect on listening behaviors daily and interpret them in terms of the

components of active listening

Listening Journal Assignment1. For seven days, write daily in a journal about your listening skills.

2. Each day, describe one interaction that you had and discuss your ability to actively listen to others.

3. Explain how well you did at each of the following active listening skills: paying attention, holding judgment, reflecting, clarifying, and sharing.

4. For each of these interactions, describe the nonverbal behavior of others and the nonverbal behavior you exhibited to show your interest in others.

5. For each daily entry, describe any non-listening behaviors that you observed during the day.

6. At the end of the seven days, conclude your journal with a summary of lessons that you have learned and five goals for improving your active listening in the future.

Team Listening Environment (TLE) Scale1. The other group members genuinely want to hear my

point of view.

2. The other group members show me that they understood what I say.

3. The other group members listen to what I say.

4. The other group members understood me.

5. The other group members seem attentive to what others have to say.

6. The other group members pay attention to me.

Johnston, M. K., Reed, K., & Lawrence, K. (2011). Team listening environment (TLE) scale: Development and validation. Journal of Business Communication, 48(1), 3-26.

Team Coordination Scale1. Members in my work group plan together and

coordinate efforts effectively.

2. Everyone in my work group understands what to do and how to do it.

3. As a work group, we are dedicated to meeting our objectives successfully.

4. Group members work hard to provide substantive and timely feedback on ideas and work presented.

5. My work group is usually aware of important events and situations.

6. The people in my work group make my job easier by sharing their ideas and opinions with me.

Demographics of Survey Sample n %Gender

Men 126 54.5Women 105 45.5

Age21 to 25 49 21.226 to 30 24 10.431 to 40 50 21.641 to 50 53 22.951 to 65 51 22.1Over 65 4 1.7

Current Professional PositionAccounting 17 7.4Finance 14 6.1Human Resources 5 2.2Information Systems 39 16.9Management 41 17.7Marketing 15 6.5Supply Chain/Operations 10 4.3Other 90 39.0

Total 231 100

Descriptive Statistics for the Team Listening Environment Scale

Item M S.D. % AgreeThe other group members genuinely want to hear my point of view. 3.91 .88 73.8%The other group members show me that they understood what I say. 3.93 .85 73.6%The other group members listen to what I say. 4.02 .83 79.2%The other group members understood me. 3.93 .87 72.7%The other group members seem attentive to what others have to say. 3.87 .88 72.7%The other group members pay attention to me. 4.01 .84 75.8%Total 23.73 4.49

Note. Percentage agree refers to those who selected agree (4) or strongly agree (5) on the survey.

Descriptive Statistics for the Team Coordination Scale

Item M S.D. % AgreeMembers in my work group plan together and coordinate efforts

effectively.3.87 .94 72.7%

Everyone in my work group understands what to do and how to do it. 3.66 .88 61.0%As a work group, we are dedicated to meeting our objectives successfully. 4.10 .89 80.5%Group members work hard to provide substantive and timely feedback on

ideas and work presented.3.82 .94 67.1%

My work group is usually aware of important events and situations. 4.00 .89 76.2%The people in my work group make my job easier by sharing their ideas

and opinions with me.3.88 1.00 69.3%

Total 23.35 4.62

Note. Percentage agree refers to those who selected agree (4) or strongly agree (5) on the survey.

Regression of Team Coordination B SE B pAge .016 .022 .471Gender (Men)

Women .672 .510 .189Employment Tenure -.215 .208 .302Team Listening Environment .600 .056 .000**Communication Frequency

Spontaneous Meetings .377 .187 .045* Scheduled Meetings -.146 .203 .473 Email .001 .190 .996 Phone -.306 .192 .112

Note. R2 = .35. *p < .05. **p < .01. Variables in parentheses are baseline measures for dummy coded variables. Positive coefficients imply positive influence on team coordination. Negative coefficients imply negative influence on team coordination.

Low Team Coordination

Medium Team Coordination

High Team Coordination

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%

Poor Listening En-vironment; 58.8%

Poor Listening En-vironment; 16.9%

Poor Listening En-vironment; 13.8%

Average Listening Environment; 33.8%

Average Listening Environment; 44.6%

Average Listening Environment; 30.0%

Excellent Listening Environment; 7.5%

Excellent Listening Environment; 38.5%

Excellent Listening Environment; 56.3%

Team Coordination and Listening Environment