Leaders Listen

Can we all agree that sometimes speaking (and by extension blogging) is overrated?

Ok. We've all been there. We're sitting in a boardroom discussing a contentious issue and every executive has an opinion. After a while, it becomes clear which direction the company needs to take, but there are still holdouts. Maybe it's one guy who feels threatened by the direction of change. Maybe it's an influential gal whose posse refuses to accept defeat gracefully.

Maybe it's you who just cannot agree with the direction the executives want to take.

Everyone sees it coming but nobody seems capable of stopping it...that one executive who remains in dissention...as he opens his mouth...and inserts his foot.

"So then, my beloved brethren, let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath" (Jas 1:19, NKJV)

Servant Leader, if you don't know what to say, not saying anything is sometimes an acceptable alternative. It isn't a failure of leadership if you are stumped. On the contrary, it is quality leadership that admits when we don't know. If you don't know the answer and the situation doesn't demand an immediate answer - just be quiet.

Maybe, just maybe, if you've built your team well and trained them in creative thinking, if your team has your trust and respect, if your team trusts in your leadership, then maybe they'll have the answer you are looking for. Stranger things have happened.

"I surrounded myself with good people." (George W. Bush, 2008)

Servant Leader, if you don't have the answer, don't be the one who puts their foot in their mouth just because. Be the one who listens to their trusted advisers when the time calls for it.

Leaders listen, and servant leaders listen for a chance to serve.

Maybe today's service is letting your team shine in your silence.

(Meme: Steve Keating)