What action involves actively paying attention to others' opinions, feedback, and concerns?

Listening is the action that involves actively paying attention to others' opinions, feedback, and concerns. Unlike hearing, which is simply the physiological process of perceiving sound, listening requires an active engagement with the information being communicated. It involves not just hearing the words spoken but also understanding, interpreting, and responding to the speaker's message.

Effective listening is critical in many contexts, particularly in management and teamwork, where understanding team members' perspectives can lead to better collaboration, conflict resolution, and overall success in achieving shared goals. This process includes paying attention to verbal cues, such as tone and inflection, as well as non-verbal cues like body language, allowing for a deeper comprehension of the speaker's intent and emotions.

Engaging and observing are valuable skills too, but they do not encompass the full scope of what it means to listen actively. Engaging refers to interacting and participating in a conversation, whereas observing is about noting what happens without necessarily processing the information deeply.