Deep Listening

In this 4th article of my series “Playing the Changes: What Jazz Can Teach us About Leadership,” I’ll explore how an open listening stance supports learning and skillful response in complex and unpredictable situations.

Practicing Jazz

I continued to learn jazz with a teacher’s guidance, crossing more technical gaps and striving to translate the sounds in my head into soundwaves. My progress eventually plateaued. Jazz is about playing with others and I needed to do more of it.

I played at my first open jam session during a work trip to Kansas City.  With my colleagues’ encouragement, I got up at a club and played “Beautiful Love.” During his solo, the guitarist played a lick (a pattern of notes) that I knew - one I’d practiced so much it had moved to my unconscious. When it was my turn to solo, I played it back to him. We made eye contact, exchanging a look of delight. We were relating and in conversation! We were listening for signals, both non-verbal and musical. We were responding and exploring ideas together - taking space and making space. Together, with the drummer, we created something new.

Practicing Leadership

Leading through adaptive change requires that we listen deeply to ourselves, one another, and our environment. Jennifer Garvey Berger talks about “Listening to Learn” (instead of “Listening to Win” or “Listening to Fix”). This listening mode keeps us from cutting off information or prematurely narrowing to resolution. In situations where the answer isn’t known (and often the question itself is unclear), we must stay open so that we can notice important signals and skillfully respond to them. 

Reflecting

• How do you make space for others and their perspectives?

• What type of situations tend to send you into “Listening to Win” or “Listening to Fix” mode?

• What happens when you listen with your full presence?

Listening: The Bill Evans Trio playing “Beautiful Love”, (my first jam session song)