Editor's Note: Excerpt reprinted with permission from "Inspiring Excellence," a new book on leadership from former Classmates and RealNetworks executive Michael Schutzler. The book is available on Barnes & Noble.
Since your primary purpose as a leader is to inspire and motivate a group into sustained action toward a common goal, how do you get people to agree on a common goal? You can certainly impose your will and authority and declare the goals for your organization.
Many leaders have done so, with some success. Are you sure you know the right goals?
You probably have some really good ideas, but leadership is not a solo performance. You are trying to inspire and motivate others to work hard. By creating an open forum for the exchange of ideas in your organization, you are able to forge agreements and build the relationships that make consistently successful leadership possible.
You need your team to function well and start achieving results now, not in the distant future. For that to happen you need a collaborative environment that leverages your team’s expertise, insights, and abilities.
To foster that environment you must listen more than you speak, and you must avoid making assertions until absolutely necessary. You need your team to think, to aspire, to create, and if you are deliberate about your approach, they will come up with goals and plans better than you could have conceived on your own.
Listening is paramount in unifying the team. Please do not underestimate its value. As a leader, the instant you speak, two-thirds of your team stops thinking.
This hefty first cohort will capitulate and begin to interpret or outright solicit your instructions. And of the remaining one-third still thinking, half of them will disagree with you just because you’re the boss.
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