Can You Hear Me Now?

Thanks to the marketing genius of Verizon in the early 2000s, I’m certain this title question elicits flashbacks of running through the lab or hospital toward the nearest window in an attempt to find better cell phone reception. Whether trying to communicate with a surgeon regarding the orientation of an anatomic pathology specimen or order pizza for the lab’s afternoon lunch-and-learn, we have all struggled with the ability to hear or be heard—little else can be more frustrating.

In a perfect world, no one would struggle to hear or be heard, whether seeking the ever-elusive cell phone service within the hospital, or sitting face to face with our peers and/or staff. In a perfect world, there would be no miscommunication. In a perfect world, what we say and how we say it would be heard and understood with ease. In a perfect world, our patients, peers, and staff would say what they mean and mean what they say. In a perfect world, we would all be good listeners. But let’s face it: we do not live in a perfect world. Analyzers go down, processors fail, and sometimes we just don’t listen.

Moving beyond the seemingly menial tasks of resolving suture designation or selecting pizza toppings, listening is, by far, the most important and often overlooked skill in health care. In whatever capacity you serve, whether in a leadership role as lab director or a boots-on-the-ground role, such as that of a phlebotomist, I ask you this question: Are you a good listener?

I recently was asked this very question as a part of a course in the new and innovative ASCP Leadership Institute. This comprehensive leadership training program is both insightful and rewarding. Among the Leadership Institute’s many excellent courses, one that triggers a significant amount of introspection is, “Listening With a Purpose.”

This course explains that we need to be aware of our own listening styles; this self-awareness gives us the ability to modify our behaviors based on the needs of others, therefore enabling us to be more situationally effective.¹ This sounds like a mouthful, but in the most basic terms, we must listen, people must feel heard, and when both happen, together we can build a stronger lab. #StrongerTogether

Much like the other Leadership Institute courses, “Listening With a Purpose” includes both a preassessment and webinar. The preassessment asks that all-important question: “Are you a good listener?” Honestly, I have to admit, I resoundingly answered yes to this question. Of course I’m a good listener. I then completed a questionnaire, and based on my responses, an individual report was generated.

Our listening style consists of one or more listening approaches. The five possible listening approaches are as follows:

Per the report, I have a listening approach that is “discerning” and “evaluative.”² Now, I’m going to be as transparent as possible and tell you that when I first read my profile, I was thrilled. As a pathologists’ assistant, it came as no surprise that my focus is on gathering complete and accurate information, as well as being astute and attentive to detail. I mean, that’s my bread and butter, so I was pleased to find my listening approach aligned with critical skills at the gross bench. To that end, “evaluative” seemed, at face value, an excellent listening approach. As medical laboratory professionals, we are in a near-constant state of critiquing information and making decisions. Again, our bread and butter. Perfect!

Then, when I turned the page, the section before me was entitled, “Your growth areas as a listener.” As it turns out, my least natural approach to listening is “empathetic.” Perhaps you can relate? In a world driven by reference values, margin involvement, and tumor extension, the ability to be attentive to the emotions of others can sometimes fall by the wayside. However, the profile suggested that having this as my least natural approach could make people feel as if I don’t hear them, and I discount or ignore their messages; they may even interpret my listening style as cool or distant.¹ I don’t want people to feel marginalized on account of my listening style. I don’t want the drive to be an excellent medical laboratory professional to affect the team dynamics by creating unnecessary conflict, dissatisfaction, or mistrust. And, I suspect, neither do you.

Now aware of my listening approach and poised to seek resolution, I turned to the Leadership Institute webinar, which consisted of three major points: barriers to listening, the three listening modes, and strategies on how to communicate more effectively with people.

Listening involves three levels of communication: verbal (our words), audial (the tone of our voice), and physical (body language). In face-to-face conversation, more than half of our message is conveyed through body language. Ironically, the phrase “Can you hear me now?” is somewhat of a misnomer, as phone conversation is absent of all body language. We must be aware that communication does not include simply the words we speak, but also our body language and tone of voice. Similarly, we need to be sensitive and “listen” to each of these levels when someone communicates with us.

A myriad of barriers to listening include stress, background noise, overtiredness, difficulty focusing on someone who repeats himself, and so on. Unfortunately, our jobs are busy, analyzer alarms go off, we work variable shifts with long hours, and some people are poor communicators. However, if we can be more diligent in listening, people will feel heard.

I’m sure you have all found yourself in various modes of listening. I, for one, know that while grossing, I often find myself, through necessity, in a state of passive listening. I am, in fact, multitasking. However, now that I am even more aware of its possible negative implications, my intention is to demonstrate active listening as often as possible. But how? Have my dedication and drive to do right by the patient as a detail-oriented, perfectionist, multitasking pathologists’ assistant affected my relationships with my fellow medical laboratory professionals? Perhaps; perhaps not. I’ll spare you the torture of my introspection. What I do know is that I have a guide. As the webinar taught me, based on a Harvard Business Review article, “What Great Listeners Actually Do,” we can use six levels of listening in various situations.

These six levels of listening are as follows:

• Level 1 Listener creates safe environment

• Level 2 Listener removes distractions, focuses attention, and makes eye-contact

• Level 3 Listener seeks to understand the speaker by asking questions and confirming information

• Level 4 Listener uses nonverbal listening skills (body language)

• Level 5 Listener empathizes by identifying and acknowledging the speaker’s emotions

• Level 6 Listener asks questions and helps the speaker see new light³

These levels are merely a foundation; while obviously not attainable or necessary at all times, they serve as basic guidelines that can empower us to be better listeners and help us hone our listening skills.

The remainder of the webinar vetted the five different listening approaches discussed earlier, as they apply to different situations, citing examples of how to work with those with opposing listening approaches, as well as how to modify one’s behavior in those situations. Describing each of those examples is far beyond the scope of this brief reflection; however, what these recommendations gave me was a different perspective. When I first took the course preassessment, I was worried and, frankly, defensive. My persistent drive for perfection in all things (to which many of you can relate) is overwhelming, however I didn’t want my working relationships to suffer at the expense of poor listening skills. I know now that we are all different, so we need not be embarrassed about what kind of listener we are. Our unique qualities are what make us a vital part of a team. To become “stronger together” in our medical laboratories, we need to be good listeners. Feeling heard builds trust, motivation, and happiness, and promotes our goal, which is world-class patient care. Equipped with this excellent leadership tool, awareness of my listening style, I can modify my behavior to forge stronger and healthier communication and relationships within the laboratory.

Interested in learning your listening profile and developing your adaptive listening skills? Visit www.ascp.org/content/leadership and enroll today.

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