Have you ever encountered someone who believes they know everything? Who believes they are the only ones that can solve a problem or the only ones with all the answers? Do you trust them? Probably not. I know I, at least, would be skeptical.
Essential four in The Nine Essentials of Significant Leadership is: open your mind to new possibilities. Significant leaders know they don’t know everything or have all the answers. In fact, only a bloated ego and a closed mind believe that they have complete or unlimited knowledge, awareness, understanding, or solutions. Significant leaders understand that what has worked in the past is probably a good starting point. But by virtue of the fact that it was in the past, it may not be the best solution going forward.
Opening your mind to new ways of doing things, taking different routes to the desired endpoint – Allowing alternative voices to lead the conversation and the thought process are all necessary elements to bring about a desired end benefit. Communicating to your team that you know you’re not supposed to be the one with all the answers empowers each member to contribute their knowledge and expertise toward the solution or the desired outcome. Significant leaders are purposeful in tapping into the knowledge and the strength of others. This allows them to see, enhance and seize upon opportunities for their team that they would not have been able to visualize on their own.
Essential number four in The Nine Essentials of Significant Leadership: open your mind to new possibilities..
Read Lauren’s Whitepaper on The Nine Essentials of Significant Leadership.
