Let’s Listen More

Hey team. Here we are. It’s Wednesday. Wednesday Workshop. We’re so excited to be with you today.

So, I want to talk to you a little bit. I read this quote from Joan of Arc. A man asked her why is it that God only speaks to you and her reply is you are wrong sir. God speaks to everybody. I just listen. That quote got me because in this world of competing ideas and so much fast-pacedness and social media and everybody competing to be heard.

Where are the listeners in today’s world?

Where are the people that listen? Many times in my life I can be honest I have been more of a talker. Some of you are saying, “Chad that surprises me.” Okay, no it doesn’t really probably for most of you. I do love to talk but as I’m getting older, almost 248 years old now. I can hear my son in the background shaking his head, rolling his eyes going, “Stop it, Dad.”

But in all seriousness, as I’m getting older I’m learning to do more listening. I sit in executive meetings and I say a lot less. Ask Sonja. Ask Greg. I do, I say a lot less in many of the meetings today. I do have an opinion and I do speak my mind but I am doing much more listening to team members. And to my team because I value, so value, everybody’s opinion, and thoughts. So as I think about Joan of Arc’s statement, God does speak to everybody and if we listen more we might hear.

We’re so focused sometimes on our own thoughts.

Sometimes we look at our leaders above us, maybe this might be you. Looking at your leader above you and you’re saying constantly over and over “Well, we should do this. We should do that, we want to do this, we got to do that” and you’re telling everybody, and sometimes even your leader and stuff and but you’re not listening even sometimes to your leader.

On the vice versa side, if you’re a leader and you’re just throwing out your own ideas and you’re not pausing to listen to those that you serve. That’s right, we have servant leadership here. Leaders aren’t around to just bark orders. It’s one of the things we learn in our leadership class is we are here to serve our team. So as a leader, we need to do some listening too.

Listening is a two-way street just as much as talking, if not more so.

There’s that adage, God gave you one mouth and two ears. God knew what was important and we hear and then we speak. So a little slower to speak, a little quicker to listen. I think that advice is good for all of us.

So on this Wednesday, let’s do some more listening to one another and to God. Perhaps, just perhaps, we will hear what needs to be said and we will do what needs to be done in greatness for our community and for the people we serve will take place.

God bless you, guys. Have a wonderful Wednesday. Enjoy the rest of this week it’s amazing and I will see you next week. Be valuable because you know nothing less will do.