The faster your brain works, the easier it is to stop listening.
by Janet Ply, PhD · The Practical Leadership Newsletter · March 31, 2026
In a client meeting a few weeks ago, a senior technology leader kept interrupting people before they finished their sentences.
One team member started explaining an issue with a client process. Halfway through the explanation, the leader jumped in. “I get it,” he said. “Here’s what we should do.”
The meeting moved quickly. Decisions were made. On the surface, it looked efficient.
After the meeting, however, not everyone felt it had been efficient or productive. The person explaining the client process issue didn’t get to finish what she was saying. The details she shared with me wouldn’t get resolved with the process the senior leader had decided on. When I asked her if she would meet with the leader to give him the additional insights, she said, “I could but he never listens and he always thinks his way is the best. I’ve given up even trying. I’m not the only one. No one on the team feels like he listens to their ideas.”
She didn’t feel heard or appreciated, even though she knows the client process inside and out.
More importantly, some important information never made it into the conversation.
I’ve known this leader for several years. He’s smart and competent in most leadership skills. But he has a listening problem.
One of the reasons leaders struggle with listening is surprisingly simple.
They think faster than people talk. Most people speak at about 135–175 words per minute. But our brains can process information at 400–500 words per minute.
That gap leaves a lot of mental space while someone else is talking. And our brains fill that space quickly.
Especially if you're a smart, experienced leader.
Instead of listening fully, your mind often starts to:
By the time the other person finishes speaking, you’ve already decided what to do.
From your perspective, you're being efficient.
From their perspective, you stopped listening halfway through and don’t appreciate their ideas.
In my work with technical leaders, this pattern comes up frequently.
Many of the leaders I coach are analytical, fast thinkers who are used to solving problems quickly. Those strengths helped them succeed earlier in their careers. But once they move into leadership roles, those same habits can unintentionally work against them.
Listening becomes less about speed and more about understanding what your team is really trying to tell you.
Part of my role as a leadership coach is helping leaders recognize when their instinct to jump to solutions is useful, and when it prevents them from hearing important information.
Smart leaders often fall into predictable listening traps.
The irony is that the leaders who are often best at solving problems can unintentionally create an environment where fewer problems are fully explained.
And when that happens, leaders end up making decisions with partial information.
Great listeners don’t try to think slower. Instead, they build simple habits that force them to listen longer.
Here are three that work well.
1. Let the other person finish the full thought. People often pause mid-sentence while organizing their thinking. Resist the urge to jump in during that pause. Give them space to complete the idea.
2. Count two seconds before responding. A brief pause after someone finishes speaking confirms they are done and signals that you are considering what they said rather than reacting immediately.
3. Ask one follow-up question before offering your view. Try something like: “What do you think is the biggest risk?” or “What part of this concerns you most?”
Often the most useful insight appears in the second layer of conversation, not the first.
Many leaders believe their value comes from having answers quickly.
But leadership often requires something different. Understanding the situation fully before deciding what to do.
Leadership isn’t about being the fastest thinker in the room. The best leaders are often the ones who understand more of what’s actually happening in the room than anyone else.
And that only happens when people have the space to finish what they’re trying to say. Resist the urge to interrupt and let them finish.
Question for you:
When you're in a meeting, which listening trap do you notice yourself falling into most often?
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