Active Listening Skills for Leaders: How to Communicate with Clarity, Empathy and Impact

In a world of constant communication, the ability to truly listen rather than just hear is a powerful leadership skill that is often overlooked. For managers, team leads, and aspiring professionals of all seniority, developing active listening skills can transform your approach to your working relationships and how you collaborate with others.

While leadership development often focuses on speaking, presenting, persuading, and negotiating, listening is the unsung foundation of many other key leadership skills. Listening is what turns everyday conversations into moments of influence, support, and shared purpose. Active listeners also tend to have high emotional intelligence, which is a key facet of many of the skills we consider critical for leaders.

The good news is that active listening is a skill that can be learned and practiced. Whether you’re naturally a good listener or you need some tips and tricks to put your best ear forward, let’s discuss how you can put this critical skill into practice. We’ll unpack what active listening truly means, why it matters so much in leadership, and how you can practice it with intention in real workplace scenarios.

What Is Active Listening and Why Does It Matter for Leaders?

Active listening is more than just staying silent while someone speaks. It’s a conscious effort to not only hear the words being said, but to fully understand the message, observe non-verbal cues, and respond with care and clarity. It requires presence, empathy, and curiosity.

By contrast, passive listening happens when we nod along, say ‘uh-huh’, or mentally prepare our reply without absorbing the speaker’s message. This can lead to misunderstandings, overlooked insights, and, perhaps most damaging, team members feeling unheard or undervalued.

Benefits of Active Listening

For leaders, poor listening habits can create ripple effects like broken trust, low psychological safety, unclear expectations, and even burnout. These effects will have impact elsewhere in your business. On the other hand, active listening helps:

• Build stronger team relationships
• Encourage open and honest feedback
• Navigate conflict with empathy
• Make more informed decisions
• Create a culture of mutual respect
• Provide more nuanced feedback

The Science Behind Active Listening

According to research from the National Center for Biotechnology Information, effective listening is linked to increased job satisfaction, performance, and lower employee turnover. 

The study showed that supervisors’ active-empathetic listening was positively linked to higher work engagement, which in turn correlated with improved job satisfaction, performance, and lower turnover. Additionally, neuroscience research revealed that being genuinely heard activates emotional reward pathways in the brain, reinforcing the power of listening to strengthen connections with others. Finally, inclusive and supportive listening contributes to psychological safety, an essential foundation for team learning, innovation, and sustained performance.

In short, leaders who listen well lead happier, more effective teams.

Key Active Listening Skills Every Leader Should Practice

Active listening is not a single action. It’s a set of behaviours. Here are five core skills every leader should develop to become a more effective listener:

Pay Full Attention

Before you can listen well, you need to be fully present. That means putting away devices, closing your laptop, and resisting the urge to multitask while conversing with others. Make eye contact, nod occasionally, and focus on both what’s being said and how it’s being said.

What this means in practice: During a performance review, avoid checking notifications or glancing at your notes too early. Let the speaker finish and stay focused on their words and tone.

Show You’re Listening

Small non-interruptive cues like nodding, open posture, or saying ‘I see’ or ‘Go on’ signal to the speaker that you’re engaged. These are called minimal encouragers. They’re non-intrusive gestures that create space for others to express themselves.

What this means in practice: In a team meeting, use brief verbal affirmations to encourage quieter team members to keep contributing without interrupting their train of thought.

Reflect Back Information

Active listeners reflect what they hear, either through paraphrasing or asking confirmation questions. This ensures alignment and makes the speaker feel heard. 

What this means in practice: Using affirming statements like,“What I’m hearing is that you’re feeling frustrated by the tight timeline. Is that right?” This kind of reflection deepens understanding and prevents assumptions.

Defer Judgment

This is one of the hardest but most essential skills: holding back the impulse to critique, interrupt, or correct mid-sentence. It doesn’t necessarily mean you agree with what’s being said; it means staying open and curious until the speaker’s thought is finished. Wait until a natural pause in the conversation to provide your ideas or response.

What this means in practice: During a disagreement, pause before offering a counterpoint. Use clarifying questions such as: “Can you help me understand why you see it that way?” to gain deeper understanding of the speaker’s thought process.

Respond Thoughtfully

Once someone feels fully heard, they’re more open to feedback and collaboration. Respond with empathy, and where appropriate, offer next steps or support, not just advice or critique.

What this means in practice: After a 1:1 check-in about burnout, instead of jumping into solutions, ask: “What would help you feel more supported right now?” Asking the speaker what they need, rather than making assumptions, ensures alignment on the solution.

What Makes Active Listening So Hard (and How to Get Better at It!)

Most of us assume we’re better listeners than we really are. Common habits like planning your response, thinking ahead, or letting your mind wander, can erode real understanding when listening.

Barriers to Listening

• Multitasking: Trying to listen while checking emails or thinking about your next meeting might feel productive, but it splits your attention and causes you to miss key details. If someone doesn’t feel they have your full focus, they’re less likely to share openly.
• Emotional Reactivity: When a comment triggers frustration or defensiveness, it’s easy to stop listening and start preparing a rebuttal. Reacting too quickly shifts the conversation from dialogue to debate. Instead, take a breath and ask yourself: “Am I hearing them or defending my own position?” Try to take a step back and practice emotional intelligence. Practicing active listening skills is key to responding in an emotionally intelligent way.
• Ego: Sometimes we listen just long enough to give ourselves a chance to speak. When your goal is to prove a point or showcase your expertise, it’s hard to absorb what someone else is saying. True listening means putting your need to respond on pause.
• Time Pressure: When you’re rushing to solve a problem, you might jump in with advice before the speaker finishes explaining. It’s a fast track to misunderstandings. Make time to fully understand the issue before offering a fix. This saves you time in the long run.

How to Improve

Like any leadership skill, listening takes deliberate practice. Here are simple ways to start improving your active listening skills:

• Pause before responding: Let silence sit for a moment after someone finishes speaking. You don’t need to fill every gap with words. Did you know the average person won’t feel awkward until 4 seconds of silence have elapsed? It’s longer than you think.
• Summarize before replying: Repeat back the other person’s concerns to them to get clarity and give yourself time to absorb the issue. Use empathetic language like “So just to make sure I’ve got it right…”
• Use open-ended questions: Avoid yes and no questions that end the conversation. Instead, ask how and why questions that add more context to the conversation. Try language like: “Can you tell me more about what’s behind your concern?”
• Maintain eye contact and neutral body language: Closed-off, disbelieving, or hostile body language immediately sets the wrong tone for your conversation. Approach the conversation with a neutral stance.
• Resist problem-solving as a first response: Sometimes, the goal isn’t fixing a problem. At least not right away. Sometimes people just want to vent and be heard. It can be validating to get an issue off your chest. Let the speaker tell you if they want help solving the problem they’re facing.

Active Listening in Action: Real Scenarios Leaders Face

Let’s look at how active listening plays out in everyday leadership situations. While the concept may seem straightforward, applying it in real time, especially during high-pressure conversations, can be challenging. 

The following scenarios highlight common moments where leaders can either build trust through intentional listening or miss opportunities by defaulting to quick fixes. These examples show how a few key behaviours can shift the tone of a conversation, strengthen relationships, and create space for more honest, effective communication.

Scenario 1: Handling Feedback from a Direct Report

The Scenario: A team member who reports to you expresses frustration about feeling overlooked in meetings. They explain that they don’t feel they’re given time or space to contribute. They don’t feel comfortable speaking up because a few other colleagues are louder and more forceful with their opinions, leaving little chance for others to speak up.

Ineffective Response: “I’m sure that’s not true! You’re doing great!”

Active Listening Response:

• Maintain eye contact and use open body language to show full attention while they speak.
• Say: “It sounds like you feel your input isn’t being heard. Can you tell me more?”
• Ask: “What can I do to help you feel more comfortable speaking up in these meetings?”
  

Scenario 2: Navigating a Disagreement Between Colleagues

The Scenario: During a strategy session, two team members disagree sharply on the direction of a project. Both report to you and have equal seniority. It’s up to you to play peacemaker and smooth the situation over. One colleague believes speed is the top priority, while the other pushes for a more thoughtful approach to ensure nothing falls through the cracks. The conversation becomes tense, and the rest of the team goes quiet.

Ineffective Response: “Let’s just move on. No one’s winning this. We’ll deal with this some other time.”

Active Listening Response:

• Facilitate space for each colleague to speak without interruption.
• Acknowledge both perspectives with equal attention.
• Say: “It sounds like we have two different priorities. One priority is moving quickly, and the other is ensuring the work is done correctly. Is that a fair summary?”
• Reframe to find common ground: “What would a path forward that addresses both concerns look like?” or “What are the barriers to merging these priorities into one plan?”

Scenario 3: Coaching a High-Performer Through Workplace Burnout

The Scenario: A high-performing employee has become withdrawn and less responsive over the last few weeks. They’ve missed a few deadlines and seem to be emotionally checked out. In your weekly 1:1 with them, they hesitate to open up, but admit they’re feeling overwhelmed. They seem reluctant to admit they need help, worried it will affect their standing at work.

Ineffective Response: “We all have to push through busy seasons. Hang in there, this will pass eventually!”

Active Listening Response:

• Begin with: I’ve noticed a change in how you’re engaging at work. How have you been feeling lately?
• Avoid jumping right into solutions. Encourage them to express their feelings first. Make it clear this is a safe space and nothing goes beyond this conversation, if they are uncomfortable.
• Validate their concerns and try to understand the underlying issue: “I appreciate you sharing that with me. It sounds like things have been difficult for you lately. Would you be open to talking about what’s been most challenging for you?”
• Be empathetic and ask what supports they would like from you: “You’ve been carrying a lot lately. What support would make a difference for you right now?”
• If they aren’t sure what would help, ask if you can make some suggestions.
• Follow up: “Let’s figure out a plan that helps you reset without burning out.”
• Practice effective feedback techniques to prevent an emotionally-charged response.

Each of these moments isn’t just a test of empathy. They’re opportunities to strengthen trust, morale, and alignment.

Wrap up: Listening Is a Leader’s Superpower

In the rush of daily demands, listening can feel passive, like something that happens in the background. But real listening is a leadership act. It requires attention, humility, and emotional intelligence.

When you listen actively, you lead with intention. You uncover the root of issues faster. You build cultures where people feel safe to speak up and are motivated to do their best work. This is invaluable to build more productive, cohesive, and harmonious workplaces.

At Schulich ExecEd, we know the best leaders are lifelong learners, and great communicators are intentional listeners. If you want to deepen your leadership presence and elevate the way you communicate, we offer leadership education programs built around skill-building, peer collaboration, and practicing real-life scenarios.

Want to lead with clarity and forge more impactful connections with your colleagues and reports? Schulich ExecEd programs are designed to help you develop powerful listening and communication skills that will have a lasting impact on your career.