Learn by Listening

“Learn by listening.” -Coach Thomas and Coach Kerns

This seems like a simple concept. I mean, how else do we learn? We read and write, but ultimately, we listen to instructors and others who provide information that we then absorb. We learn by practicing and “doing” as well. Every day we take in information from others via media, conversation, and written works that is meant to teach us something. Yet, Coach felt that this simple and obvious statement was important enough to impart to his teams.

I think it is because we have a general aversion to listening to learn. We listen, but do we hear? We are very quick to react to information or dismiss it. We consider the source or whether we really want to learn what is being offered. In the athletic context, there are new skills, new techniques that are taught and practiced each day. We hear the instruction, but a decision is then required – do we accept it and try to learn what is being taught by practice, or do we resist it and do things our own way?

As a coach, you are a teacher. You instruct your players to utilize and learn techniques that lead to success. As an employer you instruct your employees on the best methods for performing their critical tasks. As a parent you instruct your children on how to conduct themselves to be successful in life. What happens when no one listens? Moreover, what happens when no one truly hears and applies what is being taught?

As a person in a position of leadership, all you can do is impart the information. That is why Coach put the burden on the listener in the above quote. Once you have imparted instruction in a credible manner, it is up to the listener to learn from what they have heard. We are all “listeners” in some context or another. It is our choice to truly hear and implement what we have heard.

Today, listen to learn. Accept the challenge to truly hear what is being said, accept it at face value and practice the instruction given. Put aside your resistance to learning and those self-destructive tendencies to think your methods are better and to go your own way, instead, submit to wise, reasoned counsel and put it in to practice.