Some interesting thoughts on developing effective business leadership...
Have you ever heard the phrase “Always be the smartest person in the room”?
I heard this the other day, and it sounds pretty compelling, especially for leaders.
But if you really look at that statement and then compare it to how great leaders actually function, I think we see the opposite is true.
In my experience, great leaders surround themselves with people who are smarter, better and faster at different things than themselves.
We each have rooms or areas that we are in the position of leadership; let's call it “my room.”
Being the leader in “my room” means that I don’t do everything the best, I’ve hired people and gathered people who are better than me at everything so that, as a team, we can be the best.
Being young means I need to put myself in a place where I am always the dumbest person in the room. I need “my room” to be filled with people who know things I don’t know and who want to invest into other people their knowledge.
One day I might be asked to be in someone else’s room.
I might be like Daniel invited into King Nebuchadnezzar's chamber and be asked for my advice or, expertise, or my perspective.
But to even be qualified to give advice, we need to spend many years as the dumbest person in the room, and the longer you leave yourself as the dumbest person in the room, the greater impact you’ll have in those times when you're asked to be the smartest person in the room.
There are times that you may need to be the smartest person in the room, but a truly wise leader with clear vision knows that being the leader is often a position of service before a position of power.
How do you lead your business?
Always being the smartest person in the room? I hope not…
For more insight into this, read Jack Welch’s blog post "Are you the smartest person in the room? Let's hope not."
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Authored by Maxx Raths. Interested in more of what's happening at Lifewall? Follow us on Facebook. , Google+, and at yourlifewall.com.
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