Effective listening is valued and rewarded professionally. Surveys of Fortune 500 company personnel reveal that listening is one of the most important skills that a college graduate can possess (Wolvin & Coakley, 1991) and employers routinely report that effective listening is related to job satisfaction, performance, and achievement of the organization’s goals (Flynn, Valikoski, & Grau, 2008; Gray, 2010; Welch & Mickelson, 2013). Employees who are good listeners are seen as alert, confident, mature, and judicious—qualities that result in professional rewards like promotions and pay raises. Employers also value employees who can listen effectively in diverse contexts. For example, a manager expects her assistant to listen carefully to instructions for a project as well as listen for irritation or confusion from a customer. Similarly, employees must listen carefully to others during teleconferences and WebEx meetings despite distractions like background noise or malfunctioning equipment (Bentley, 2000).

Moreover, to be strong leaders, established professionals need to listen to others, make others feel heard, and respond effectively to them (Stillion, Southard, & Wolvin, 2009). The CBS reality series Undercover Boss features CEOs who go “undercover” in their own companies. Unrecognized by employees, they listen more than anything—by asking questions, hearing about the reality of work life for people at all levels of the organization, and probing for insights into what works and what doesn’t work. In most instances, the CEO returns to make positive changes in the company’s operations—and improve communication with the employees as well.