1. The Impact of Team Listening
Environment on Team Coordination
Peter Cardon
University of Southern California
Bryan Marshall
Sally Humphries
Catherine Whelan
Georgia College & State University
ABC Asia Pacific Conference, Kyoto, Japan
March 14, 2013

2. “What do you think are the keys to effective leadership?”
[The key to leading] is really being able to listen to people. So much of
leadership, I’ve come to learn, is about getting a team to work together. It’s
not about being smart. It helps, but it’s not about that. It’s really about being
able to bring together a group of people, get the best out of them and get
them wanting to work as a unit toward some goal post. I think the building
blocks that go into that are listening to people, really understanding what
motivates them and getting them to push themselves beyond their comfort
zones. Ask a lot more questions and make a lot fewer statements. Leadership
is really about asking questions and letting people answer them.
-Answered by Ms. Anne Berkowitch
Co-founder and CEO of SelectMinds
Source: Adam Bryant, “Learn to Lead from the Back of the Boat,” New
York Times Corner Office Blog (September 4, 2010).

3. 1. Ability to Work with Others (93%)*
2. Listening Skills (90%)
3. Ability to Influence Others (89%)
4. Communicating with Diplomacy and Tact (87%)
5. Managing Expectations/Managing Up (80%)
6. Leadership Skills (78%)
7. Understanding Problems from Diverse Perspectives (78%)
8. Presentation Skills (74%)
9. Networking Skills (70%)
10. Writing Skills (69%)
11. Meeting Management (68%)
12. Negotiation Skills (65%)
13. Managing Organizational Politics (65%)
14. Giving Constructive Feedback (65%)
15. Cross-Cultural Sensitivity (52%)
16. Mentoring Skills (45%)
Source: GMAC, 2010 Alumni Perspectives Survey (McLean, VA:
Graduate Management Admission Council, 2010)
Importance of Various Communication Skills for Current Job
According to 7,674 Graduates of MBA Programs from 2000-2010
*Percentage of MBA Alumni Who Rated as Extremely Important in Their Current Job

4. Listening Training Makes a Difference*
Study of 144 Managers and 827 of Their Subordinates
Source: Judi Brownell, “Perceptions of Effective Listeners: A Management
Study,” Journal of Business Communication 27, no. 4 (1990): 401-415.
9%
58%
0% 25% 50% 75%
Poor-listening
managers
(Bottom 25%)
Good-listening
managers
(Top 25%)
Percentage of Managers
Who Had Received Listening Training
As Ranked
by
Team Members
*Effective listening training is primarily behavioral (not cognitive)

5. Poor-Listening Managers (Bottom Quartile) Think They’re Good Listeners
Study of 144 Managers and 827 of Their Subordinates
Source: Judi Brownell, “Perceptions of Effective Listeners: A Management
Study,” Journal of Business Communication 27, no. 4 (1990): 401-415.
0%
0%
6%
88%
6%
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Very Poor
Poor
Fair
Good
Very Good
Percentage of Poor-Listening Team Leaders
Poor-Listening Team Leaders are Those Ranked in the Bottom Quartile According
to 827 Work Team Employees
Listening
Self-Rating

6. (1) Paying
Attention
(2) Holding
Judgment
(3)
Reflecting
(4) Clarifying
(5)
Summarizing
(6) Sharing
Active
Listening
Source: Michael H. Hoppe, Active
Listening: Improve Your Ability to Listen
and Lead (Greensboro, NC: Center for
Creative Leadership, 2006).

7. Overview of Active Listening
• Paying attention: giving undivided attention to others
• Holding judgment: making it safe for others to speak candidly
• Reflecting: paraphrasing to ensure that you understand the
comments of others
• Clarifying: attempting to understand how others are connecting
ideas, forming meaning, and making conclusions
• Summarizing: identifying the broad issues and key themes that
others are discussing
• Sharing: expressing your viewpoints

8. Approach to Teaching
• Class Discussion (45 minutes)
– Goals: recognize the importance of listening and conceptualize
the aspects of active listening, non-listening behaviors, and
obstacles to listening
• Self-Assessment (10 minutes)
– Evaluate one’s one listening abilities
• Group Exercise (15 minutes)
• 7-Day Listening Journal
– Reflect on listening behaviors daily and interpret them in terms
of the components of active listening

9. Listening Journal Assignment
1. For seven days, write daily in a journal about your listening skills.
2. Each day, describe one interaction that you had and discuss your ability to
actively listen to others.
3. Explain how well you did at each of the following active listening skills:
paying attention, holding judgment, reflecting, clarifying, and sharing.
4. For each of these interactions, describe the nonverbal behavior of others
and the nonverbal behavior you exhibited to show your interest in others.
5. For each daily entry, describe any non-listening behaviors that you
observed during the day.
6. At the end of the seven days, conclude your journal with a summary of
lessons that you have learned and five goals for improving your active
listening in the future.

10. Team Listening Environment (TLE) Scale
1. The other group members genuinely want to hear my
point of view.
2. The other group members show me that they
understood what I say.
3. The other group members listen to what I say.
4. The other group members understood me.
5. The other group members seem attentive to what
others have to say.
6. The other group members pay attention to me.
Johnston, M. K., Reed, K., & Lawrence, K. (2011). Team listening
environment (TLE) scale: Development and validation. Journal of Business
Communication, 48(1), 3-26.

11. Team Coordination Scale
1. Members in my work group plan together and
coordinate efforts effectively.
2. Everyone in my work group understands what to do
and how to do it.
3. As a work group, we are dedicated to meeting our
objectives successfully.
4. Group members work hard to provide substantive and
timely feedback on ideas and work presented.
5. My work group is usually aware of important events
and situations.
6. The people in my work group make my job easier by
sharing their ideas and opinions with me.

12. Demographics of Survey Sample
n %
Gender
Men 126 54.5
Women 105 45.5
Age
21 to 25 49 21.2
26 to 30 24 10.4
31 to 40 50 21.6
41 to 50 53 22.9
51 to 65 51 22.1
Over 65 4 1.7
Current Professional Position
Accounting 17 7.4
Finance 14 6.1
Human Resources 5 2.2
Information Systems 39 16.9
Management 41 17.7
Marketing 15 6.5
Supply Chain/Operations 10 4.3
Other 90 39.0
Total 231 100

13. Descriptive Statistics for the
Team Listening Environment Scale
Item M S.D. % Agree
The other group members genuinely want to hear my point of view. 3.91 .88 73.8%
The other group members show me that they understood what I say. 3.93 .85 73.6%
The other group members listen to what I say. 4.02 .83 79.2%
The other group members understood me. 3.93 .87 72.7%
The other group members seem attentive to what others have to say. 3.87 .88 72.7%
The other group members pay attention to me. 4.01 .84 75.8%
Total 23.73 4.49
Note. Percentage agree refers to those who selected agree (4) or strongly agree (5) on the survey.

14. Descriptive Statistics for the Team Coordination Scale
Item M S.D. % Agree
Members in my work group plan together and coordinate efforts
effectively.
3.87 .94 72.7%
Everyone in my work group understands what to do and how to do it. 3.66 .88 61.0%
As a work group, we are dedicated to meeting our objectives successfully. 4.10 .89 80.5%
Group members work hard to provide substantive and timely feedback on
ideas and work presented.
3.82 .94 67.1%
My work group is usually aware of important events and situations. 4.00 .89 76.2%
The people in my work group make my job easier by sharing their ideas
and opinions with me.
3.88 1.00 69.3%
Total 23.35 4.62
Note. Percentage agree refers to those who selected agree (4) or strongly agree (5) on the survey.

15. Regression of Team Coordination
B SE B p
Age .016 .022 .471
Gender (Men)
Women .672 .510 .189
Employment Tenure -.215 .208 .302
Team Listening Environment .600 .056 .000**
Communication Frequency
Spontaneous Meetings .377 .187 .045*
Scheduled Meetings -.146 .203 .473
Email .001 .190 .996
Phone -.306 .192 .112
Note. R2 = .35. *p < .05. **p < .01. Variables in parentheses are baseline measures for dummy coded variables.
Positive coefficients imply positive influence on team coordination. Negative coefficients imply negative
influence on team coordination.

16. Poor Listening
Environment, 58.8%
Poor Listening
Environment, 16.9%
Poor Listening
Environment, 13.8%
Average Listening
Environment, 33.8%
Average Listening
Environment, 44.6%
Average Listening
Environment, 30.0%
Excellent Listening
Environment, 7.5%
Excellent Listening
Environment, 38.5%
Excellent Listening
Environment, 56.3%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70%
Low Team
Coordination
Medium Team
Coordination
High Team
Coordination
Team Coordination and Listening Environment