Listen Up!

This is the eBook version of the printed book. If the print book includes a CD-ROM, this content is not included within the eBook version. Mike Abrashoff learned about leadership as captain of the "USS Benfold," a guided-missile destroyer that he and his crew transformed from a dysfunctional disgrace into the best damn ship in the U.S. Navy. He told that story in a bestselling book, "It's Your Ship." Now he's distilling the lessons of that experience, plus what he's learned as a consultant and speaker, into a series of brief, practical guides to effective leadership. This is one of them, and it's about the power of listening. A leader who hasn't learned to listen is working under a huge handicap. It may be possible to lead without listening, Douglas MacArthur-style, but that approach is twice as hard, half as fast, and prone to disaster. Even as I rose through the ranks of the Navy, I found that listening didn't always come naturally to me. Often, I merely pretended to hear people. How many times had I barely glanced up from my work when a sailor or officer came up to the bridge or into my cabin? I wasn't paying attention; I was marking time until I could give orders. When I took command of "Benfold," I was determined to do things differently--and I had to move fast. In two months, we would deploy to the Middle East, and we weren't ready....