Leaders speak more, talk less
Have you ever been around someone who asks a question and then doesn’t say another word for the next five minutes? They just sit there and let others give their opinions. How do you handle this scenario? I often make the mistake of continuing to talk in order to fill the void of silence. I talk simply to make myself more comfortable than to move toward a solution.
I always say something that I regret.
A good leader is secure enough in himself in himself that he can just sit there and let other nervous people talk. He is comfortable in his own skin and does not feel the need to contantly defend himself or his ideas. They stand alone. He is more interested in making the right decision than he is in advancing his own career or standing in the room. Before I enter a meeting, I have a serious discussion with myself that goes something like this, “Self, keep your mouth shut until you are sure that you are absolutely sure that you have something good to say and then only say it to the person next to you. Let him repeat it if it is a good idea. If it stinks, he will get blamed.”
The right decision becomes apparent to the leader as he listens to others talk and as he thinks about he problem from every angle. The good leader subscribes to the Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) adage:
It is better to keep your mouth closed and be thought a fool
than to open it and remove all doubt.
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