Actions Speak Louder Than Words: How Trust and Commitment Enhance Team Action Listening

Abstract

Research has primarily focused on listening at the interpersonal level and argued that it is the most important oral communication type. However, listening at the team-level a critical determinant of team success remains unexplored. It is shaped by team members’ interactions that entails an ongoing process of collective meaning construction. In this study we offer a more nuanced understanding on team listening by addressing an often overlooked aspect, that is taking action based on what has been listened to. The action component of team listening is a powerful feedback mechanism indicating that the messages are being heard and understood. Team members by acting upon the messages being discussed, demonstrate team action listening that enhances team success. In this study, we empirically test the antecedents of team action listening and its relation to team success. To test our hypotheses we modelled real-life teaming scenarios in corporate environments where team members work in task-oriented, self-managing, temporary teams over time. We used a multi-year pooled data, drawn from diverse populations triangulating qualitative and quantitative data to understand team action listening, its antecedents and consequences. Studying 472 team members representing 98 teams through structural equations modeling and interviewing team members, this study shows that: a) teams remarkably listen through taking actions, b) teams that establish action listening are more successful. The results of our study provide evidence that team trust has a positive significant relationship with team action listening and this relationship is mediated by team commitment.