“Shhhhh!” During a childhood sleepover, one of my best friends, Scott, shushed me as he abruptly sat straight up in the bed. I didn’t know why he shushed me, considering it was the middle of the night, and I was sound asleep.

After the alarming “Shhhhh!” My eyes ferociously tried adjusting to the lightless room to inspect the dangers. Mentally preparing to battle villains, I did not immediately see or hear anything, so I quietly asked, “What’s wrong?”

“SHHHHHH,” pierced the still night more aggressively than before.

I thought, “Man, his ‘shhhh’ is louder than me!” I still didn’t know what was happening, but I had to find out.

Barely audible, with my head whipping from side to side, I asked again, “What’s wrong?”

Scott calmly said, “There’s a snake.”

I sprang into a seated position beside him while recoiling my feet from the threat of fangs and shouted, “Where?” The volume of my voice was no longer my concern if a snake was in the bed with us.

Once upright, my eyes had adjusted, and he and I were on the same level. At that point, I could see his eyes were closed. He said, “Never mind,” flopped back down, and didn’t have a clue what I was talking about the next morning.

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As a leader, you will hear people say things you may find worthless or jibberish. The key is to listen and ascertain value in not just the words but the person. A leader’s ears are not just to receive or cleverly extract information but also to instill value in others.