Leadership is Learning Something New

Leadership is Learning Something New September 30, 2014

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Some people believe that leadership is all about knowing things.

They expect leaders to be experts, to have all the information they need at their fingertips. They believe leaders should know things, or at least be able to find answers quickly. Not only facts and information, leaders really ought to know what is going to happen next.

How can leaders possibly lead without knowing everything?

I have worked with people who felt they needed to know everything, anticipate everything, be prepared for anything. I have even been one of those people.  Basing my decisions on needing to know, I spent a lot of time trying to convince myself that I knew the answers.

I put more work into defending what I knew than into exploring possibilities I did not yet recognize. I invested more of myself in making my case to explain I was right than in discovering what else might be.

The leaders who inspire me often act as if they do not know much about anything. They are open to listening to ideas they have not yet heard or analyzed. The inspiring leaders I know appreciate it is more motivating to ask questions than tell what they already know.

Knowing tends to be an obstacle to learning. The things I know tend to surround me and obstruct my view. Focusing on what I know restricts me and limits what else I can see. The things I think I already know get in my way.

The leadership that inspires me is not a knowledge dispenser. Inspiring leadership raises questions that open doors.

Leadership gives you new things to consider, new lessons to learn.

Where will you find something new to learn today?

How will you be more open to listening to an unconventional idea this week?

[Image by Knight Foundation]


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