Louis Lessor of Just Digital On How To Listen Effectively To Succeed Personally And Professionally

An Interview With Doug Noll

Build credibility: People who listen effectively are often seen as trustworthy and reliable, which can help them build credibility both personally and professionally. This can lead to increased opportunities for career advancement and personal growth.

It’s hard to be a good listener. We are programmed to want to talk, and to share. It takes effort to stop and to listen. But anyone who has achieved great success will tell you that listening is such an important quality to have. What are some ways that influential people have learned to listen, to succeed both personally and professionally? As a part of this series, I had the pleasure of interviewing Louis P Lessor.

Louis is a marketing operations expert and entrepreneur. Louis’s career has included working in private investing to advising on startups. Louis’s businesses included e-commerce, real estate, and consulting.

Thank you so much for doing this with us! Before we start, our readers would love to “get to know you” a bit better. Can you tell us a bit about your childhood backstory?

Sure, I grew up in Stoughton, Wisconsin home of the coffee break, in a middle-class family with my parents being teachers. I was very active in sports and was a three-sport athlete in high school until my journey year when I decided to focus on running to get a scholarship to run at the college level. I also started my first business in high school, CP Lawn care, and this was when I fell in love with being an entrepreneur and helping companies grow.

Can you please give us your favorite “Life Lesson Quote”? Can you share how that was relevant to you in your life?

“No matter how small you start, start something that matters”

Brendon Burchard

This quote means that it’s important to begin doing something meaningful, even if it initially seems small or insignificant. It emphasizes taking action and making a difference in the world rather than waiting for the perfect opportunity.

It also reminds me that starting small allows me to learn and gain experience along the way and continue working on something that matters to me. Over time it can grow into something more significant and more impactful.

Is there a particular book, podcast, or film that made a significant impact on you? Can you share a story or explain why it resonated with you so much?

The book that has had the most significant impact on me is Start with Why by Simon Sinek.

This book has challenged me to rethink how I approach my personal and professional life. In my personal life, after reading this book, I honed in on the “Why” in my life. This means why I am doing what I am doing each day. This has allowed me to decide if something is right for me; I have turned down opportunities that still need to meet my why.

In my professional life, I challenge people to provide the why behind every one of their decisions; if that why is not clear and well thought out, then I know I need to ask more questions to get to the precise answer to the problem we are solving which allows me to make the best decision.

Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion. Let’s begin with a definition of terms so that each of us and our readers are on the same page. What exactly does being a good listener mean?

Being a good listener is being an active listener. This means you actively pay attention to what the speaker is saying verbally and nonverbally and demonstrate an understanding of the speaker’s message. This means repeating critical elements of the message to ensure you understand the message to help that person the best you can.

Why is effective listening such an important quality? Can you give a story or example to explain what you mean?

Effective listening is critical because it allows you to gather the true message of what is being spoken. If you’re actively listening to what is being said, you’ll take advantage of critical elements allowing you to respond best.

Early in my career, I was a passive listener. I remember talking to my CEO about one of the projects I was working on. He advised me on how to fast-track this project, allowing me to get a lofty bonus. I was so focused on telling him how this project would solve all of the company’s problems that I did not hear this advice and ended up not getting this bonus.

From your experience or perspective, what are some of the common barriers that hold someone back from being a good listener?

1. Ego — everyone loves to talk about themselves and how they are the best
2. Distractions — this is big and one that is growing more and more in our always plugged-in society.
3. Preconceptions and biases — Our preconceptions and biases can affect how we interpret what the speaker is saying. This can lead to misunderstandings or prevent us from truly hearing and understanding the speaker’s message.

Can you please share a few practical techniques that have helped you become a more effective listener?

1. Stay focused: Make a conscious effort to focus on the speaker and what they say. Avoid distractions by turning off your phone or closing your laptop.
2. Show interest: Demonstrate your interest in the conversation by maintaining eye contact, nodding, and asking questions to clarify what the speaker is saying.
3. Avoid interrupting: Allow the speaker to finish their thoughts before responding. Avoid interrupting or finishing their sentences.
4. Paraphrase: Repeat back what the speaker has said in your own words to ensure you’ve understood their message correctly. This shows that you’re actively listening and engaged in the conversation.
5. Empathize: Try to see the situation from the speaker’s perspective and show empathy towards their thoughts and feelings.
6. Avoid judgment: Avoid making assumptions or judgments about what the speaker is saying. Instead, focus on understanding their perspective.
7. Be patient: Give the speaker time to express their thoughts and feelings fully without rushing them or trying to move on to the next topic too quickly.
8. Take notes: If it’s helpful, take notes to help you remember important points from the conversation.

Here is the central question of our discussion. What are five ways that listening effectively can help someone succeed personally and professionally? If you can, please share a story or an example for each.

1. Build strong relationships: Effective listening helps to build trust, empathy, and understanding between people, which can strengthen relationships both personally and professionally. This can lead to better collaboration, teamwork, and more positive interactions.
2. Resolve conflicts: By listening actively and empathetically, people can identify the root cause of a conflict and work towards finding a resolution that works for everyone involved. This helps to reduce stress and tension and can lead to a more harmonious personal and professional environment.
3. Learn from others: By listening effectively to others, people can learn new perspectives, ideas, and strategies that can help them succeed in their personal and professional lives. This can lead to personal growth and development and improved performance at work.
4. Build credibility: People who listen effectively are often seen as trustworthy and reliable, which can help them build credibility both personally and professionally. This can lead to increased opportunities for career advancement and personal growth.
5. Achieve goals: By listening effectively to others, people can better understand what is needed to achieve their personal and professional goals. This can lead to better decision-making, improved communication, and a clearer sense of direction, which can help people succeed in all areas of their lives.

You are a person of great influence. If you could inspire a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be?

The movement that I would start would be to revamp our education system. Our education system needs more resources to stay competitive on the world stage. We must look hard at what is being taught and who is teaching in our approach to ensure we are setting up the next generation of workers to succeed. It’s critical that we set the next generation up to achieve this, including teaching soft skills and hard skills along with challenging their thinking on different manners.

Is there a person in the world whom you would love to have lunch with, and why? Maybe we can tag them and see what happens!

Brandan Burchard, his researched frameworks helping you become the best person you can become has a significant impact on leveling up my skills to continue growing personally and professionally. His no-fluff self-help is one that I would push everyone to follow his teachings because he does the research.

How can our readers continue to follow your work online?

https://www.linkedin.com/in/louis-p-lessor/

Thank you so much for sharing these important insights. We wish you continued success and good health!

About the Interviewer: Douglas E. Noll, JD, MA was born nearly blind, crippled with club feet, partially deaf, and left-handed. He overcame all of these obstacles to become a successful civil trial lawyer. In 2000, he abandoned his law practice to become a peacemaker. His calling is to serve humanity, and he executes his calling at many levels. He is an award-winning author, teacher, and trainer. He is a highly experienced mediator. Doug’s work carries him from international work to helping people resolve deep interpersonal and ideological conflicts. Doug teaches his innovative de-escalation skill that calms any angry person in 90 seconds or less. With Laurel Kaufer, Doug founded Prison of Peace in 2009. The Prison of Peace project trains life and long terms incarcerated people to be powerful peacemakers and mediators. He has been deeply moved by inmates who have learned and applied deep, empathic listening skills, leadership skills, and problem-solving skills to reduce violence in their prison communities. Their dedication to learning, improving, and serving their communities motivates him to expand the principles of Prison of Peace so that every human wanting to learn the skills of peace may do so. Doug’s awards include California Lawyer Magazine Lawyer of the Year, Best Lawyers in America Lawyer of the Year, Purpose Prize Fellow, International Academy of Mediators Syd Leezak Award of Excellence, National Academy of Distinguished Neutrals Neutral of the Year. His four books have won a number of awards and commendations. Doug’s podcast, Listen With Leaders, is now accepting guests. Click on this link to learn more and apply.