Question

Question one: (Word count 200 words)

Imagine you are a manager in an organization and one of your employee is in a meeting with you to discuss a situation that he faces at work:

“Sir, can I have 10 minutes of your time? ….. My name is Racha and I’m facing a problem with one of my colleague Ahmed , we are supposed to be working together on a project to market and sell one of our brands, one of our potential customer was asking for detailed information and presentation of our brand product, Ahmed and myself discussed what to do on the phone the beginning of the week to prepare the presentation and to divide the work between us, I believe that we agreed on who is going to do what in the presentation and on parts of the required written document to be sent to the customer.

The set date to meet with the customer is at the end of the week-after two days- I called Ahmed yesterday to make sure that his part is done to add to my part to complete the document and the presentation, but when I called him to inquire about work, he answered me in a way I didn’t like, and said that some of that we agreed on-in our phone conversation- was not his responsibility and it was my responsibility – although I recall from our conversation- that it is his responsibility not mine.

Also he talked to me in a way – I don’t sir how to describe it- like he is ordering me to do things, this is how I felt it.

I think I did my part and he is not working enough to complete his, and now I have to do his part and it is huge and I can’t finish it in two days or we have to postpone the meeting with the client and might lose the contract.

I feel that I’m being treated in a different way than my other male colleagues in the team, although I work very hard and this not fair to be judged in this way because I’m a female employee.

1. Use and apply active listening guidelines to solve this situation- use examples from the case.
2. In your opinion why we use active listening in the above situation- use examples related to the case above.

Answer 1

Here active listening is an important way to help solve the situation. Much like critical thinking, this soft-skill plays important role in conflict resolution and helps improve the quality of solution and your value as a manager. Here are some guidelines of active listening, which you need to apply to the situation-

-> Respond to Show Understanding-

You need to show understanding and acceptance, even by non-verbal behaviour.

Here are few examples that you can follow- Tone of voice, Facial expressions, Eye contact, gesture, Posture

-> Be Empathetic and Give Your Full Attention

-> You need to Refrain from Making Judgments and be Aware of Your Own Inner Response

-> Remain neutral and Don’t take sides

-> Ask open-ended question- Ask for clarification but be polite and respectful. Also, drilling down to the details would help.

For example, you can ask “Can you say more about the work and decided timelines?” OR “What did you mean when you said that "I’m being treated in a different way?”

-> Summarize what you hear and ask questions to check your understanding.

Here are some examples of active listening-

• Brief verbal affirmation - "I appreciate the time you’ve taken to speak to me"
• Asking specific questions - "How many instances did you feel such behaviour?"
• Mentioning similar situations - "I know of similar situation from my previous company."
• Summarise questions - Instance: A job candidate who summarises their understanding of an unclear question during an interview.
• Notice people speaking - Instance: A meeting facilitator encouraging a quiet team member to share their views about a project.
• Summarise group conversations - Instance: A manager summarizing what has been said at a meeting and checking with the others that it is correct.