We have recently studied some procedures for the effective use of sympathy. We will find soon that great leaders actually build success upon empathy. It is perhaps the most powerful method that we have in our quiver for growing as we proceed along our leadership journey. We have found that it is easy, however, to provide unintended consequences while attempting to listen to others. Before we delve into empathy we should find it necessary to investigate the machinery of effective listening.
Our Creator has fashioned us in his likeness. This was revealed to Moses and recorded in the book of Genesis, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." In this manner we are created for communion and union with God. In other words, we have been created as beings of community. We desire to share our thoughts, business, and lives with others, including God. We may consider that God could have made us all into robotic beings simply employed to worship God continually. This is not the case. We need and want each other because we are made this way. Therefore, it is our duty to attempt to perfect the manner by which we communicate with one another.
We have a machine at our disposal. It works as follows. We listen to others. We offer no condemnation or advice. We begin to feel as they feel. Rather than prescribing solutions to symptoms we find that our acquaintance leads their own self to the root of their problem. We are only along for the ride with them so that they feel not alone. Time passes. The acquaintance through interactions with mutual friends discovers that we have kept the interaction completely confidential. We have not shared the experience with others. Trust grows. As the trust grows the more frequently our acquaintance shall seek us out when they find their own self in a pinch. The trust continues to grow as we prove our selves capable of keeping secrets. We find eventually that our acquaintance may trust us more than anyone else on the face of the earth. In this we have become a true friend and a true leader. Our acquaintance equates their time with us with the solving of their problems. While we do not provide the guidance for the solution, we have instead provided the environment for the solution to be dug up and found.
In brief then we see our listening machine as a key to our happiness and the overall happiness of society. We feed the machine genuine empathic listening and it returns trust. The more the trust grows the more our machine is put to work. This is an awesome discovery. The best thing about this discovery is that we all have this machine at our disposal. It is in the garage, perhaps the attic, waiting for the proper operator. We are the operators of this machine. Remember what the apostle James teaches us, "Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?" We shall find that our listening machine requires mastery over our own mouth. Proper operation of this machine produces trust. With a foundation of trust our society may indeed embark upon open, constructive, ideological inquiries. If we fail to engage with our fellow citizen in this manner we may very well just continue to preserve a sense of artificial harmony where harmony does not exist. Eventually reality overcomes the artificial harmony. By then it may be too late. So here is our call. Our call to take up our listening machine. This call is one requiring steadfast character.
Copyright © Robert Clinton Chedester 2013
Our Creator has fashioned us in his likeness. This was revealed to Moses and recorded in the book of Genesis, "And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth." In this manner we are created for communion and union with God. In other words, we have been created as beings of community. We desire to share our thoughts, business, and lives with others, including God. We may consider that God could have made us all into robotic beings simply employed to worship God continually. This is not the case. We need and want each other because we are made this way. Therefore, it is our duty to attempt to perfect the manner by which we communicate with one another.
We have a machine at our disposal. It works as follows. We listen to others. We offer no condemnation or advice. We begin to feel as they feel. Rather than prescribing solutions to symptoms we find that our acquaintance leads their own self to the root of their problem. We are only along for the ride with them so that they feel not alone. Time passes. The acquaintance through interactions with mutual friends discovers that we have kept the interaction completely confidential. We have not shared the experience with others. Trust grows. As the trust grows the more frequently our acquaintance shall seek us out when they find their own self in a pinch. The trust continues to grow as we prove our selves capable of keeping secrets. We find eventually that our acquaintance may trust us more than anyone else on the face of the earth. In this we have become a true friend and a true leader. Our acquaintance equates their time with us with the solving of their problems. While we do not provide the guidance for the solution, we have instead provided the environment for the solution to be dug up and found.
In brief then we see our listening machine as a key to our happiness and the overall happiness of society. We feed the machine genuine empathic listening and it returns trust. The more the trust grows the more our machine is put to work. This is an awesome discovery. The best thing about this discovery is that we all have this machine at our disposal. It is in the garage, perhaps the attic, waiting for the proper operator. We are the operators of this machine. Remember what the apostle James teaches us, "Out of the same mouth proceedeth blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not so to be. Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?" We shall find that our listening machine requires mastery over our own mouth. Proper operation of this machine produces trust. With a foundation of trust our society may indeed embark upon open, constructive, ideological inquiries. If we fail to engage with our fellow citizen in this manner we may very well just continue to preserve a sense of artificial harmony where harmony does not exist. Eventually reality overcomes the artificial harmony. By then it may be too late. So here is our call. Our call to take up our listening machine. This call is one requiring steadfast character.
Copyright © Robert Clinton Chedester 2013