This story happened in a marketing department where two colleagues
X and Y, were having dispute with each other due to conflict of ideas. Person X
was improvising on person Y idea and giving suggestion on how to improve Y’s
plan so that X’s ideas could be incorporated in the plan. Person X was
confident that his plan is enough to submit the proposal therefore he refused
to listen to any of his peers. Y’s treated every comment made by his peers as
though it’s a criticism and therefore having non-stop argument with his peers.
After the argument subside, their team leader Z, walked passed both X and Y with
an annoyed looked and called them both to enter his office. Apparently, Z was hiding at a corner peeping
and listening to whole conversation between both X and Y and was furious about their
action. Surprisingly, the team leader did not reprimand them, instead he gave opinion
and advised how to merge their idea. He then continued to give them lecture on
how to be a good team player and some moral values based on his past
experiences.
In this scenario, team leader Z exercised active listening as
he was hiding in a corner hearing the conversation of his subordinate. Instead
of having to stop the whole argument, he listened patiently and understand the
whole situation. Even though he was peeping at a distance, he could judge that
it was a problem that cannot be solved if he were to step out at that moment. He
then called upon both X and Y to his office and gave them opinion. This time
round both his subordinate was actively listening to his opinion. As he was
someone of superiority, both his subordinate will have to continuously maintain
eye contact and show a positive posture and concentrate on listening to their leader’s
comment. Active listening is an important skill that should be trained whenever
possible. This can help to prevent conflict if the other party had heard the
full story before giving and conclusion.
