Listening that changes everything
🎧 Listening that changes everything
Justin Wright’s illustration perfectly shows that listening has different levels:
-
Waiting for your turn to speak – you’re “listening”, but really thinking about what you’re going to say next.
-
Hearing the words – you register the sounds, but lose the meaning.
-
Understanding the message – you listen to understand, not to respond.
-
Recognizing emotions – you pick up on what the other person is feeling.
-
Hearing what is unspoken – you are fully present, and you understand needs and tensions between the lines.
It’s this fifth level of listening that is crucial in mediation and… leadership.
That’s the moment when real dialogue begins – between emotions, values and cultures.
Just as often in conversation, a single sentence is enough for everything to change.
💬 “Let’s pause for a moment. Let’s listen to what hasn’t been said.”
🤫 Silence.
And suddenly, the emotions that used to get lost among the arguments start speaking louder than words.
I think about this often in the context of teamwork 👥 and people management.
Because the same thing happens in organizations.
Too often we hear, but we don’t listen.
We react instead of understanding. 💡
And yet true leadership begins when we are able to hear what is unspoken – emotions ❤️, intentions 💭, tensions ⚡.
That’s precisely this “fifth level of listening” that we talk about in mediation.
In management, we simply call it leadership maturity. 🌱
Because a leader who truly listens doesn’t just resolve conflicts.
🌉 They build bridges.
