Story 25: Listening
The story: They agreed to really listen to each other this time. He took it seriously and did not interrupt. She went the wrong way for fifteen minutes. Why did you not stop me, she said. I did not want to interrupt, he said. To her, listening included steering. To him, it meant staying quiet.
What it means for organisations: Listening is the rare value where doing more of it can look like doing less. One person's version is full attention with no interruption. Another's is engagement, questions, redirection. Held side by side, restraint reads as disengagement and involvement reads as talking over. So the effort each person puts in is invisible to the other, and the more carefully they follow their own version, the less the other one sees.
Where next?
Read the comic as text
The Alignment Gap, Story 25
by Stavros Stavru, Ph.D. (weallagreed.com)
Scene 1: Heading into the meeting
A glass-walled office with a conference table and chairs visible ahead. Ally and Axel walk in side by side, each carrying a clipboard, both in good spirits.
Ally: Let's really listen to each other this time.
Axel: Agree!
Banner between scenes: “What could go wrong?”
Scene 2: The meeting room
A conference room with a large screen, windows onto the city skyline, and a table scattered with tablets, notebooks, phones, and cups. Ally sits at one side, pen in hand, looking frustrated and gesturing toward Axel. Axel sits across from her, smiling innocently.
Ally: Why didn't you stop me? I was clearly wrong. I just wasted 15 minutes…
Axel: I didn't want to interrupt… weren't we just meant to listen?
Share this story: LinkedIn ↗
