Leaders should not be intimidating

We’re all in this together. Command and control models of leadership where the patriarchal leader was the wisest person in organization who knew everything does not work in the modern economy.

To get the very best strategies, the best ways to execute requires so many good conversations. The job of leaders in a modern organizations is not to dictate, but to listen, share knowledge, take in different perspectives and help teams find alignment where the value lies.

Good leaders should have lots of ideas to offer, but they don’t necessarily need to have thought of them. They need to be open to explaining these ideas well, breaking them down to core concepts and encouraging thought and discussion and being to open to refining. Then they need to be good at providing clarity and alignment of purpose for an organization. They should help define culture, values and how we relate to each other.

Personally I have a lot of ideas and I am very open to absorbing other people’s ideas. But not every idea I have is good. That’s why it’s super important to clarify and question and figure out what works.