How does reflective listening work? It’s really quite simple. Reflective listening means listening carefully to what speaker has to say, and then echoing that person’s ideas back to him, rephrased in your own words. For example, if a colleague presents a marketing idea at a meeting, you can reflect this idea back to him by saying, “Let me see if I’ve understood you correctly. You’re proposing that we do following…” and then attempt to summarize his plan. Or, if a coworker expresses some reservations about a proposal, you could respond by asking, “So, if I understand your concerns, you’re saying that…” and then restate his ideas as best you can.

So what does this accomplish? First and foremost, it helps you verify that you’ve properly understood what other speaker said. Unfortunately, many people don’t understand how important this is. “But of course I understood!” they would say. “I’m a good listener!” What they fail to grasp is that good listeners don’t simply assume that their understanding is accurate and complete. Quite contrary; an effective listener will seek to verify this whenever possible.

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Summary: A growing number of research scientists are persuaded that universe is not made of separate things but on a deep level is a single entity. This view is called holographic paradigm. The author takes a page from this unique point of view by asserting that success of a leadership tool he has been teaching for 21 years is attributed to fact that it is indeed a hologram.

The Leadership Talk As A Living Hologram by Brent Filson

The hologram is a three-dimensional photograph made on a flat surface with laser beams.

The three-dimensionality of such an image is not only remarkable characteristic of a hologram. If a hologram of your face is cut in half and then illuminated by a laser, each half will still contain entire image of your face.

Indeed, even if halves are divided again, each snippet of film will always be found to contain a smaller but intact version of original image of your face. If we try to take apart something constructed holographically, we will not get pieces of which it is made, we will only get smaller wholes.

To some scientific researchers, hologram is basis for a striking view of reality -- that entire universe is a superhologram. Everything from grains of sand beneath our feet to farthest star in outermost regions of deep space, everything is interconnected as one.

This view has come to be called holographic paradigm, and though it is supported by findings of quantum physics and corroborates insights of ancient Rabbis of Kabbala, Buddha, Lao Tsu, Plato, Veda mystics, and many more prophets and spiritual traditions, many scientists have greeted it with skepticism.

Still, a small but growing group of researchers believe it may be most accurate model of reality science has arrived at thus far.

If holographic paradigm is true, then each of us — including your best friend and your worst enemy — are all connected on a deeper level of reality. Consequently, our individual actions affect others, everywhere. The state of world, state of universe for that matter, is merely sum total of interactions of humanity.

Let's bring holographic paradigm into our ordinary lives, our ordinary day-to-day jobs. Because if it doesn't work in our daily lives, it's nothing more than an interesting idea. In fact, it's in very ordinariness of our moment-to-moment experiences that holographic paradigm finds its true manifestation.

That manifestation creates an entirely new way of understanding leadership and organizational success; for a key leadership tool that I've been teaching for many years is indeed a hologram. Not static photo-image hologram but a living hologram of great complexity and energy.

That tool is Leadership Talk.