However, studies also show that such practices often are ineffective—in part because many managers simply aren’t good listeners. When we conducted a comprehensive review of 117 academic papers on workplace listening—whether it happened in individual conversations or in team or larger meetings—we found that this skill is far easier to describe than to display.

Why? Because listening is an intentional activity that requires empathy, patience, and the ability to respond to what you hear. And because it can be so mentally taxing, particularly when the subject matter is complex or emotionally charged, people often take shortcuts or disengage altogether.

Take Google’s all-company TGIF meetings. For years these were biweekly open forums where company leaders would share updates, discuss strategic developments, and take questions from employees. They played a critical role in maintaining a culture of trust at the company. As Laszlo Bock, Google’s former senior vice president of people operations, once explained, they covered “everything from whether the mix of food in the cafés is too healthy to really sublime questions around whether our strategy with a particular country or product is good or evil.” However, in 2019 Sundar Pichai, Google’s CEO, decided that the meetings were no longer working. Employees wanted to talk about contentious issues like the company’s handling of hate speech and sexual harassment, and discussions were often leaked to the press. Pichai made them less regular and changed their format. It seems that listening to everyone had gotten too difficult.

Similar scenarios have played out at Activision Blizzard, where an attempt to address harassment claims during a company town hall led to a massive walkout, with workers complaining that leaders were minimizing rather than meaningfully addressing their concerns, and at Amazon, where employees said that a daily survey designed to gauge their sentiment was being skewed by managers’ overt pressure to give positive answers and by worries that responses wouldn’t be kept anonymous.

In our research we’ve found that even the most well-intentioned leaders are sometimes guilty of being poor listeners. We’ve identified five of the most common and damaging causes of that failure: haste, defensiveness, invisibility, exhaustion, and inaction. In this article we’ll explain how to avoid those pitfalls and become the kind of listener that your team members need you to be.

[Here’s the first

1. Haste

In April 2023 MillerKnoll’s CEO, Andi Owen, held an online town hall. Going in, she worried that morale was low. In order for the employees—including her—to receive their annual bonuses, the company needed to hit a revenue goal, and sales weren’t on track. But Owen believed that with a final push the employees could succeed. “My goal was to get them to…say, ‘Gosh, it really stinks that we aren’t further along.’ And maybe take a minute and feel bad about that, but then sort of leave that place of feeling bad. We still have a quarter, we can still do this,” she later told Fast Company.

Toward the end of the meeting, Owen was asked the question on everyone’s mind: What about the bonuses? And that’s when things went awry. “Don’t ask about, ‘What are we going to do if we don’t get a bonus?’” Owen replied. Workers should focus instead on making their numbers, she said, adding: “I had an old boss who said to me one time, ‘You can visit pity city, but you can’t live there.’ So people, leave pity city!” A video of the response went viral, racking up nearly 6 million views and igniting a firestorm online.

Owen had fallen prey to haste. Her viral comment came in the final moments of a long meeting. She hadn’t left much time for questions or formulated any responses in advance—so she responded quickly. That often happens with busy leaders managing several people or entire teams.

But listening with haste can be worse than not listening at all. When you respond to people too quickly, they’re likely to feel frustrated, demeaned, or unimportant. And when you miss the message because you’re hurrying, you may also make decisions based on incomplete information, which can further demotivate your team.

Good listening is a demanding task that takes time. In our work we’ve found that people feel heard only when listeners focus their attention, demonstrate interest, and ensure that they’ve understood.

To avoid hasty responses, set aside adequate, distraction-free time for conversations. This signals that you’re genuinely invested in hearing the other person’s perspective and helps ensure that nothing important gets glossed over. If there are issues you can’t address in the moment, plan another time to follow up.

Though this approach may not apply in situations where you’re confronted, as Owen was, there are other ways to slow down and listen effectively. One good strategy is to ask clarifying questions. Exploring areas of ambiguity or seeking additional details will not only help you fully understand what you’re being told but also encourage people to be more thorough and transparent with you—because you’re showing that you truly care about what they’re saying.

Finally, resist the urge to interrupt. Research, including a study from Italy’s Second University of Naples, shows that interruptions are almost always poorly received. Your first job is to understand the message and intent of the speaker. Respond only after that job is done.