Positive Links Speaker Series: Listening to Flourish: Harnessing High-Quality Listening to Build Thriving Organizations
Guy Itzchakov
Tuesday, November 18, 2025
11:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. ET
Free and open to all, registration required to obtain login information
Online

Event link: https://myumi.ch/JPNZN

Positive Links:
The Positive Links Speaker Series, presented by Michigan Ross’ Center for Positive Organizations, offers inspiring and practical science-based strategies to build and bolster thriving organizations. Attendees learn from leading positive organizational scholars and connect with our community of academics, students, staff, and leaders.

About the talk:
Good listening isn’t just passive attention; it is an active tool that shapes how people think, feel, and connect. Professor Guy Itzchakov’s research shows that high-quality listening, marked by focused attention, accurate understanding, and a non-judgmental intent, facilitates profound introspection, self-disclosure, and social connection. When employees feel truly heard, they report higher job satisfaction and performance, stronger commitment, and lower burnout and turnover intentions. Experiments also show that being genuinely listened to reduces social defensiveness, promotes self-reflection, and can depolarize attitudes and disagreements.

In this Positive Links session, Prof. Itzchakov will share his cutting-edge research and unpack what makes listening “high quality” and why it matters for leaders, employees, and practitioners. Drawing on studies from his lab and work with organizations worldwide, he will explain the components of good listening and demonstrate concrete behaviors that make people feel understood. Join us to learn how high-quality listening builds trust, liking, and relationship satisfaction; how it can bridge ideological divides and spark innovation by reducing defensiveness; and how to cultivate a listening culture through training and practice. By the end of the session, you will have research-based tools to foster positive relationships and build organizations where people can thrive.

About Itzchakov:
Guy Itzchakov is an Associate Professor and Department Chair in the Department of Human Services at the University of Haifa, where he directs the “Interpersonal Listening and Social Influence Lab”. Guy received his PhD in Business Administration from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem (2017) and was a postdoctoral fellow at the Rotman School of Management at the University of Toronto (2018).

His research focuses on the effects of high-quality listening on listeners’ and speakers’ emotions, attitudes, and behaviors, as well as listening training in organizations. Guy’s research includes laboratory experiments, field studies, and listening training studies. The latter examines how listening training programs in organizations impact managers, employees, and organizational outcomes. Other research lines include attitudes and persuasion, attitude ambivalence, and goal setting.

Host:
Monica Worline, Faculty Director, Center for Positive Organizations

Series Sponsors:
The Center for Positive Organizations thanks the Sanger Leadership Center, Tauber Institute for Global Operations, and the Zell Lurie Institute for Entrepreneurship for their support of the 2025-26 Positive Links Speaker Series.

Series Promotional Partners:
Additionally, we thank Ann Arbor SPARK, the Managerial and Organizational Cognition (MOC) Division of the Academy of Management, and the Organization Development and Change (ODC) Division of the Academy of Management for their Positive Links Speaker Series promotional partnerships.