Ebrahim AlhamedFrameworks Library

m.05 · I · Diagnose & Enable · Listening, Feedback & Coaching

SAID, Theory U & the 5 Active-Listening Moves

Hardy · Scharmer · O'Connor · three tools for a high-stakes conversation.

The core idea

Feedback lands when it is specific, separated from identity, and structured. Coaching lands when you listen past the words to the person. The tools are small — SAID, Scharmer's four levels, five active-listening behaviours — but the discipline is large: stop fixing, start hearing. — after Hardy, Scharmer & O'Connor

The hero diagram

SAID — one structured sentence.

Four moves, in order. Separate behaviour from person.

Linear flow Left-to-right sequential flow: Situation → Action → Impact → Do. Situation → Action → Impact → Do
Situation
↓
Action
↓
Impact
↓
Do

Frameworks in this module

Named ideas to remember.

SAID Feedback Model · Hardy
Situation — specific moment · Action — observable behaviour · Impact — effect on others / work · Do — what to do next
Separate behaviour from person. Speak to the first three or four sentences.
Scharmer's 4 Levels of Listening · Scharmer
Downloading — I already know · Factual — I notice new data · Empathic — I feel what they feel · Generative — I sense where we are going
Most leaders listen at Level 1. Level 3 is where trust is built.
Active-Listening 5 · O'Connor
Attend · Withhold · Reflect · Clarify · Summarise
Don't rehearse your reply. Create space for theirs.
Plus / Delta · Hardy
+ what worked · Δ what could be even better
Two columns. Thirty seconds. End every meeting with it.

How to apply

In the next 1:1 you run.

  1. Open with one SAID observation. Concrete moment. Behaviour, not character. Impact stated plainly.
  2. Then stop talking. Active listening 5. Five full seconds before you reply to anything.
  3. Aim for Level 3 listening at least once. "What is going on for you, really?" — and wait.
  4. Close with Plus / Delta. One of each. On the meeting. Then on their work.

Key reading · HBR · Ibarra & Scoular

The leader as coach.

The best feedback conversations are not about delivering a verdict; they are about creating the conditions for the other person to discover their own insight. That is why structure (SAID) and depth of listening (Scharmer) matter more than the quality of your advice.

Ask, do not tell. Listen, do not rehearse.

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