A man walking along the seashore was seen picking up sea stars from the beach and throwing them back into the ocean. Thousands and thousands of dying sea stars covered the beach. An impossible task to complete in a day or months for that matter. When asked why he even bothered, he picked up another sea star, held it up and said, “because it matters to this one” and he threw it into the ocean.
This past week I gave you the challenge: try for one day to make a marked effort to listen intently and respond sincerely.
How did it go? Did it spread to your other days? Did you do it for a whole day? Or just one conversation?
The interesting thing is that that whether or not you did it for one conversation or one hundred, it made a difference for that one person. Just like picking up those sea stars, you will have millions of conversations in your life. To listen to every single one and understand them might seem like an impossible task. But remember that every single conversation you give your full attention to is a single person that felt more important as a result.
It may seem improbable for every conversation, but know that every conversation has a person behind it that craves understanding and validation, even if they, or you, don’t realize it. You have the power to give both.
Good luck this week, and thank you for taking steps to be a better leader. It does matter.
