I believe that listening to others is one of the best paths to discovery. When we listen only for confirmation of what we already believe, we don't learn very much. But when we listen with curiosity, we open ourselves to information, experiences, and perspectives that we might never encounter on our own.

There are few resources more valuable than another person with a lifetime of acquired knowledge and experience. Over the course of my academic career and in my personal life, I've found that making the effort to hear others is one of the most rewarding investments we can make. It sounds simple. But like most worthwhile things, listening requires intention and even a little discipline.

Listening to Connect

Have you ever noticed that the most interesting person you meet at a party is often the best listener? After all, they give you a chance to talk about your favorite topic: yourself. And if you're lucky, they might even ask a follow-up question.

Seriously, listening often seems to be in short supply. I know I am guilty of some common pitfalls. When I'm talking with someone, I sometimes catch myself waiting for them to pause for a breath so I can jump in with what I want to say. That's not much better than talking over someone. 

I can also become completely absorbed in a screen or something I'm reading. In the past, I sometimes wouldn't hear my spouse speaking to me, which didn't go over particularly well, as you can imagine. Eventually, I learned to pay just enough attention that when she asked, “Did you hear me?” I could parrot back what she had said word for word. 

That might have earned a chuckle, but it wasn't much of an improvement. Simply hearing and remembering someone's words is not the same as listening. 

We listen for more than words. We listen for information, emotion, and perspective. We may learn something that challenges our own understanding and even find that we have been asking the wrong question. 

Good listeners are interested in what you have to say. They are engaged in your experience and recognize that you have something worth sharing. That makes an impression because it tells another person that what they have to say matters. And that creates connection.

Listening to Care

Connection takes on particular importance in patient care. Listening is essential to being an effective clinician because the patient knows something we do not: what it is like to experience their illness, symptoms, and concerns.

We need that information for an accurate diagnosis, but listening does more than help us gather facts. It helps us understand what matters to the person sitting in front of us. That understanding is fundamental to person-centered care and to helping patients make informed decisions. 

Listening also demonstrates empathy. It can reduce anxiety and establish trust. Most importantly, it reminds us that caring for someone begins with being willing to hear them.

Listening to Lead

The same principle applies to leadership. Institutions are made up of people who each have a unique perspective. I think of it as a photomosaic. Up close, we each occupy one small image. It is only when all images are viewed together that we see the larger picture.

One example for me came from conversations about the size of our dental class. On paper, class size can look like a relatively straightforward question of capacity, resources, and finances. But when I listened to faculty, staff, and students talk about their experiences, I began to understand the issue differently.

They described how class size could affect the learning environment, access to faculty, clinical experiences, and ultimately our ability to provide each student with the quality of education we expect at UCSF.

Those conversations changed the question for me. It was no longer simply, How many students can the school accommodate? The more important question became, How many students can we educate exceptionally well while maintaining the clinical and educational experiences that define a UCSF education?

That perspective contributed to the decision to decrease the size of the class. It was not necessarily the easiest decision, because reducing enrollment has implications throughout a school. But listening helped clarify what we were trying to protect and prioritize.

It also reinforced something important about leadership. A leadership position may provide a broad view of an institution, but it does not provide a complete one. Some of the most valuable information available to a leader comes from the people who experience the effects of an institution's decisions every day.

Hearing Is Also Seeing

This may be the most important thing listening has taught me: when we make the effort to listen actively and intentionally to someone, we do more than hear what they are saying. We begin to see what they see.

That doesn't mean we will always agree. Listening is not the same as accepting every perspective or surrendering our own judgment. It means being curious enough to consider the possibility that another person can show us something that isn't visible from where we stand.

That is true in a conversation with a loved one. It is true in an encounter with a patient. And it is true when leading an institution.

Each of us occupies only one small image in the photomosaic. Listening allows us to see beyond it. And the more seriously we consider the experiences and perspectives of others, the more complete the picture becomes.

Michael S. Reddy, DMD, DMSc 
Dean, UCSF School of Dentistry 
Associate Vice Chancellor, Oral Health Affairs>/p>