Most hard meetings are lost before they start.
You walk in with the decision made, the words rehearsed, and the clock running. The other person walks in with a history you have not considered. Five minutes later, two people are defending themselves and nobody is listening.
James gives the order: quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger. The order is the instruction. Hearing first does not come naturally. Hearing first has to be prepared.
The idea. Listening is the first step of the LEADS Path, and listening begins before the meeting does. Three questions take one minute. What expectations may shape this conversation, mine and the other person’s? What posture will help me listen? Whom can I ask if I am unsure how my words will land? Written answers change how you enter the room.
The action for this week. Before your hardest meeting this week, write one line for each question. Afterward, note which answer turned out to be wrong.
“Let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.”James 1:19, ESV
Jake
P.S. The three questions fit on one page. Print a copy from Tools for Leaders.