| Since the creation of the International Listening Association in 1978, the study of listening was relegated mostly to small chapters in texts on oratory, rhetoric, or drama. Research examining listening in environments other than academia or with populations other than college students is very limited. The present study adds to the body of research on listening and leadership and contributes to the information available on listening and leadership.; The subjects were 122 graduates from the Leadership Albuquerque Program in Albuquerque, New Mexico, a 10-month leadership program sponsored by the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce. The Listening Practices Feedback Report (LPFR), a self-report, 28-item questionnaire that measures 6 different listening dimensions was sent to participants during the summer of 2000. The six listening dimensions measured are attention, empathy, memory, open mind, response and respect.; The present study analyzed the results utilizing the Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) statistical procedure. One dimension, response, was dropped from the study due to redundancy in the data. The remaining 5 indices were analyzed with the leader's profession (staff, management or administration), length of time in current position (0–5, 5.5–10, 10.5–45 years), age (25–44, 45–64), gender (male, female) and race/ethnicity (White (non-Hispanic), Hispanic, and Other).; All participants in this study scored “high” in attention, empathy, open mind, and respect and “very high” in the index of memory. Statistical significance was found for the main effects of race by gender, specifically Hispanic Females scored higher than Hispanic Males on the index of memory. This significance may be due to more women entering colleges and universities seeking higher education, more educational and training opportunities available to minorities and Women of Color. The Hispanic women in the present study may have been subjected to a more stringent selection process (due to discrimination) for their careers and have better communication skills, especially listening skills, than the other participants in this study. Also, cultural differences could account for the findings in this study.; The present study contributes to the existing body of research in the areas of listening and leadership and gives instructional designers a framework for developing training materials for listening skills for leaders. The results of the present study also maybe combined with other instruments for analysis and self-improvement in the areas of leadership and listening. |
