A discussion I had recently left me deeply concerned.
The individual I was talking with holds an important position with the company where they work.
The title they have is impressive, the company is impressive and I’m sure their compensation package is impressive.
The person told me how they had been in a key leadership position with their company for a number of years, and as a result, their opinions and ideas were always accepted by everyone. Rarely did the person encounter any resistance.
The entire time he is telling me this, I can tell he is enjoying telling me because he is stroking his own ego.
During the conversation, I chose to merely listen. I learned a long time ago there is no sense wasting any energy trying to refute someone while they’re stroking their own ego.
After the conversation ended, I left somewhat disheartened, knowing the “leader” I had been talking with was anything but a leader. At best he was a pseudo-leader, and that was being generous.
People who have to run around and tell others how great they are as a leader are never a leader at all.
Quality leadership is seen in the results of an organization, not in the boasts of the leader.
What I found interesting is the company and the division of the person I was talking with have had without a doubt the worst 5 years of any of their competitors. Simply put, this guy has been having his clock cleaned for years, and the whole time he thinks he’s wonderful.
Let’s just look at one aspect — the part where he is proclaiming to me how his opinions and ideas are always accepted without any pushback.
This tells me one thing — he doesn’t have any thinkers on his team. Nobody — and I repeat nobody — can be that right all the time.
Leadership is about being open to other opinions and views. It’s about creating an environment where open discussions can occur. If the environment is not open, then what we have is not leadership, but management (and even that is being overly generous).
Leaders seek out opposing views, they’re not threatened by them, and they welcome them, because in the end, they know they can have an even better outcome.
What opposing views are you hearing?
Who are the people you can count on to share with you ideas or opinions that might be counter to yours?
Do you welcome this input and is it delivered in a manner that facilitates better thinking?
Leadership is about creating better outcomes.
Copyright 2014, Mark Hunter “The Sales Hunter.” Sales Motivation Blog. Mark Hunter is the author of High-Profit Selling: Win the Sale Without Compromising on Price.
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