Listening: The New Interrupting-that actually might move the team forward

Let’s be honest: most meetings are less about collaboration and more about strategically waiting for your turn to be right.

Someone tosses out an idea, and you can feel your internal lawyer warming up their opening argument. You’re not listening — you’re loading.

But what if you didn’t?

What if you just… didn’t decide yet?

The Radical Act of Not Deciding

There’s a weird magic that happens when you listen without agreeing or disagreeing.

You stop playing verbal ping-pong and start seeing what’s actually on the table.

The idea doesn’t need to be right or wrong — it just is.

And once you take the moral weight out of it, you can explore it without setting the room on fire.

Try This in Your Next Meeting

1. When someone says something that triggers your “Nope” reflex — pause.

2. Breathe. (Yes, that thing you forget to do in meetings.)

3. Say, “Let’s see where that goes.”

That single sentence shifts everything. Suddenly it’s not a duel — it’s a lab experiment.

You’re testing ideas, not testing patience.

What Works, What Doesn’t

Instead of defending your corner, get curious:

• What works about this idea?

• What doesn’t?

• What could we tweak to make it work better for us?

Now you’re co-creating instead of competing. It’s collaboration with actual data instead of bruised egos.

Spoiler: Everyone’s a Little Bit Right

And a little bit wrong.

It’s not about who wins the meeting — it’s about what moves the work forward.

Once you stop needing to be right, you start being effective.

The Bottom Line

Neutrality isn’t weakness; it’s power in quiet clothing.

It’s how the best leaders think — and how the best teams move.

So next time the tension rises, remember:

You don’t have to take sides to make progress.

Be curious long enough to see what happens.

JASC Associates LLC

From Vision to Velocity — helping teams turn meetings into movement.