Active Listening

When it comes to listening, I find that I have trouble listening to authority figures. Through reading this chapter, I’m finding out that most of my problems come from the evaluating the message content of listening. The lack of listening can come from many barriers, but some of the more common ones with me include Lack of Interest, Distracting Delivery, and Arrogance and Disrespect.
A good example of arrogance and disrespect comes courtesy of the old store manager where I work. This was the first store he had ever managed, and he believed he could act anyway he wanted because of this. He felt that because he was the manager of the store that he was superior, and that his employees were incompetent. He would not listen to anyone who was below him, even if they had valuable information. Because of this, none of his employees respected him. I would try and have civil conversations with him, but his arrogant attitude made it hard for him to effectively communicate back. If you weren’t talking about money or cars, then you might as well not speak.
Unfortunately, I was not able to resolve this problem with him. I felt that I would have to lower my I.Q. to effectively have a business relationship with him. I feel that if he could change his attitude and the way that he treats his employees, then my problem with arrogance and disrespect will be resolved.

Henry