Great leaders know they don’t know everything. They learn as they go, and they’re confident enough to listen to people at every level of their organizations. As a result, they make better choices and fewer mistakes. They also inspire greater commitment to and more support for their decisions. By reaching out to everyone on your team, you give the benefit of a variety of perspectives. Make it clear that you want to hear from everyone, whatever his or her title or position, and that you want everyone to speak his or her mind. Ask for people’s opinions and ideas even if they don’t volunteer them.
HT: Creating Magic: 10 Common Sense Leadership Strategies from a Life at Disney by Lee Cockerell (New York: Doubleday, 2008)
