Leaders who are unable to see another point of view, listen to others, and absorb and engage with diversity are destined to make mistakes.
Good leaders have a point of view, but they allow others to put theirs, see when their ideas can be improved, and sometimes utter those amazingly strong leadership words ‘I did not know that’
Your beliefs, powered by experiences are powerful barriers and filters to the way you see the world, they reinforce the status quo for you.
Have you ever made a mistake, seen a better way with the benefit of hindsight that should have been obvious with a little more information, thought, time and effort?
Yes, most of us have.
If you answered no, seek counselling, quickly, before you do any more damage.
Cartoon Credit: Hugh McLeod at gapingvoid.com
Too rare, hens teeth and unicorns come to mind.
The world has changed before our eyes, and no longer do command and control structures work effectively, or at least effectively enough to remain relevant in the long term. The alternative is listening, networks, and leveraging capability wherever you find it.
Listening while being open to being influenced is a rather rare occurrence it seems.