"A survey from People Insights found that only 56% of employees believe senior leaders genuinely make an effort to listen, which is down from 65% two years ago. We live in a world where algorithms reward noise. Visibility has become a proxy for value, and airtime is the metric that many use to measure leadership presence. But real influence doesn't come from speaking more. It actually comes from listening better. Influence grows through empathy, trust, and the ability to see and understand people."
"When leaders stop listening, people stop contributing. Ideas fade, trust erodes, and creativity retreats into silence. I've seen this in large transformation programs with a sound strategy. Employees felt unheard, so progress stalled. When we paused to listen, everything changed. People began to share what was really going on. They talked about their fear of redundancy, exhaustion, and the loss of identity sitting just beneath the surface."
Leadership listening has declined, with only 56% of employees saying senior leaders make an effort to listen, down from 65% two years earlier. Algorithms and visibility incentives reward noise, making airtime a proxy for leadership presence. True influence stems from listening, empathy, trust, and the ability to understand people. When leaders stop listening, ideas, trust, and creativity fade; when leaders pause and listen, employees surface fears of redundancy, exhaustion, and identity loss. Acknowledging those emotions and taking intentional action reduces resistance and restores collaboration. Listening is the first act of empathy and key to rebuilding psychological safety.
Read at Fast Company
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