Listen to Lead

How Empathy and Better Conversations Transform Your Work and Life

Empathy is not a luxury in leadership; it is the decisive skill that determines whether plans succeed or quietly fail. In Listen to Lead, veteran strategist and defense analyst Robbin Laird shows how most breakdowns in organizations are not caused by bad strategy or weak intellect, but by leaders who do not truly hear the people they depend on. Drawing on four decades working with military commanders, corporate executives, and government teams in moments of crisis and transformation, he reveals the disciplined practices of focused listening, incisive questioning, and genuine conversation that unlock trust, initiative, and innovation. This book gives you a practical playbook for turning meetings into real dialogue, surfacing the “undiscussable” issues that stall progress, and bridging divides across rank, culture, and ideology. If you lead people in a world of constant change, Listen to Lead will challenge how you show up in every conversation and give you concrete tools to make each one count