Episode 16. Stop Talking. Start Listening: Why Listening Is the Leadership Skill That Changes Performance

THIS EPISODE WILL BE LAUNCHING IN MAY 2026

In this solo episode, Sarah Brennand explores listening as one of the most underused yet commercially powerful leadership skills.

Rather than treating listening as courtesy or compliance, the episode reframes it as a diagnostic tool, one that reveals how people think, feel, communicate, and make decisions. When leaders listen with intent, they gain insight into behaviour patterns, levels of trust, unspoken concerns, and what truly drives action, commitment, and choice.

The conversation examines how listening shapes influence, negotiation, and alignment, not by persuading harder, but by understanding better. Sarah unpacks what effective listeners pay attention to beyond words alone, including language patterns, emotional signals, hesitation, and energy shifts that often determine whether people engage, commit, or withdraw.

This episode focuses on communication that reduces resistance, strengthens trust, and improves outcomes, whether in leadership, client relationships, or commercial conversations, by placing attention where it matters most.

Key Topics Covered

• Listening as a strategic leadership and commercial capability
• What listening reveals about how people think and process information
• Understanding emotional drivers behind behaviour and decision-making
• Identifying trust signals and resistance through conversation
• How people communicate when they feel safe versus guarded
• What to listen for beyond words: tone, pace, emphasis, and pauses
• Recognising buying signals without selling harder
• How better listening improves influence and negotiation
• Reducing friction and misunderstanding through attention
• Why people commit when they feel understood
• Using listening to strengthen relationships and performance outcomes

Sarah Brennand works with leaders and organisations operating in high-pressure, high-performance environments, supporting them to build capability and achieve results that are sustainable over time. She is the Founder of L7 Executive Coaching and Co-Founder of Illuminare Executive Education, delivering leadership and business solutions internationally across multiple sectors.

Her work integrates strategy, human performance and wellbeing, informed by executive leadership experience, extensive coaching practice, and a strong belief that clarity, structure and alignment are essential to long-term success.