RUSSELL RULES: CHAPTER 3: Listening is Never Casual

Russell Rule # 3: Listening is Never Casual

Russell says that listening is ultimately about effective communication. The payoff of listening effectively is that humans tend to respect and like someone who listens to them, even if they disagree with the person's views. He goes on to say it's important to discriminate between what someone says and what he really means. "Because each of us (on the Celtics) was a star in his own right, the only way we could have been effective was by the ability we all developed to work with each other. Listening made it easier for us to be friends, but most of all it enabled us to do our job to win games and championships.

"Red had a great set of ears. Red's greatest talent was that he was a listener who translated what he heard into effective action. Every now and then, Red would call me to come to a game or practice early and we'd just talk. He might say, 'You're getting a little off-track.' And the conversations were always useful because he used a language that I could hear. He spoke to each of us differently. He had an uncanny ability bo pick up intonations, inflections and body language in each of his players. When he listened, he had what I like to think of as a built-in, shockproof lie detector.

"We used to have a saying on the Celtics, 'Don't lie to me, boy!' That one came from Red. He insisted that each player tell him exactly what was on his mind. He had the wiliest instinct for eliminating the difficult space between someone's words and his intonations. You knew you had room to answer him without being threatened."

Okay, Russ. Here's what I'm getting. First, get tuned into other people so you understand their language; and then speak in their language in order to make it easy for them to listen to you. Next, encourage them to communicate with you and nurture complete candor by eliminating any implied threat of reprisal—whatever they candidly say. Finally, develop an instinct that helps you to know when they're blowing smoke up your digestive track.

And finally, something he calls "Russell's Corollary to the Rules of Listening": "Always make sure you are able to listen to yourself to the point where you know that what you are picking up is the voice of wisdom."

Sam