What's the most important skill in global mobility?

OK, listen to this. What skill would you say has the biggest impact on how well you perform in your role? There are many critical skills mobility professionals leverage on a daily basis. Critical thinking...check! Oral communication skills...check! Written communication skills...check and check! But according to this article from Fast Company, you may not be working on the one that likely has the biggest impact to your success and often supports those other skills...have you guessed it?

Listening! Yep, listening. And according to Michael Reddington, author of The Disciplined Listening Method: How a Certified Forensic Interviewer Unlocks Hidden Value in Every Conversation, it is not something that comes naturally to people. Instead, it takes hard work and serious, locked-in focus.

In global mobility, opportunities to leverage our listening skills occur constantly. We frequently talk about the number of stakeholders who are involved in relocation and assignment management. Mobility teams — often from various locations around the world — payroll, accounts payable, recruiters, hiring managers, talent management teammates, and then the long list of supplier partners (RMCs, immigration, tax, etc.). Not to mention the actual mobile employees and their family members!

Let's say you buy in and agree that listening is the most important skill that you need to improve. You may find that elevating your game has some challenges. In this Fast Company article, they share Reddington's three big impediments to listening.

1. The first one is something that usually happens  before the other person even starts talking. "Falling prey to your biases!" When you enter a conversation thinking it will be a waste of time, adding no (or very limited) value, then you have downgraded it and have dramatically increased the amount of information that will get missed or dismissed. This can also play out depending on what esteem you have for the person speaking. Often we have written them off, when there may be numerous nuggets to gather!
2. The next challenge on the list is "succumbing to distractions," and in my opinion in this era of numerous Zoom calls each day (and multiple screens), this is the biggest one! Considering your environment for its impact on your ability to listen is advised — turn off gadgets and additional screens, and get to a quiet place with little other activity. Someone recently told me they are great at "multi-tasking." Well, maybe she was part of the 2.5% of people who are really able to do that, but for the rest of us, we hinder our abilities, particularly when it comes to listening. Those are the external distractors, but then there are the internal monologues and thought bubbles that prevent us from listening to someone else. “That internal monologue is likely going to lead me down the road of my feelings and emotions; what I want to say next or what I think is going to happen next.” 
3. Not effectively managing your mindset was next on the list. Defining in advance what you want to accomplish and keeping emotions in check both help to better establish the right mindset from the start. "Instead of focusing on imposing your viewpoint or emotions, you can go into the conversation focused on achieving the long-term goal. This approach will change how you listen to the other person."

Controlling the variables seems to be the key. In a future with increased remote work occurring, the author suggests we may have an opportunity to be better listeners. With fewer behaviors and environmental issues, we can focus on the verbal delivery, word choice, speed, tone and pauses to be much more in tune with another person.