Reflections:You Can Be A Wise Leader

                                  

A good executive is not a boss—he is like a servant! A good executive simply is not arrogant. He listens to his employees. When the top people don’t communicate with those under them, then of course they don’t understand them or their problems. When that happens they’re headed for trouble!

Executives at any level should listen to those under them. They are responsible to make the final decisions, but being an executive does not mean that he has all the ideas and does all the thinking and all the consulting just within himself. A good executive will listen to others. A good assistant often knows more about his boss’ business than he does— and he should! The boss shouldn’t have to be involved with every little thing, but someone needs to be.

A good boss understands that his assistant is more familiar with the extent of the work and the urgency of it, and he will respect that and usually take his assistant’s suggestions.

When it comes to plans and goals and motivation and other overall aspects of the work, the executive is supposed to be good, or he shouldn’t be the boss. But when it comes to practical matters, an executive ought to listen to his helpers, because his helpers probably know more about it than he does.

A good executive will listen to his workers’ suggestions, discuss, agree with them on a course of action, and then leave them alone to carry out the work, just checking now and then to see that they are producing and don’t make any serious mistakes. That’s really the job of the executive—to keep things moving. He should let his people recommend the work, initiate the work, and by all means carry out the work. Only a beginner, only a brand-new, immature junior executive tries to run everything and tell everybody what to do. He’s never been in that position before and doesn’t know what to do or how to do it, but he pretends to as he sits at his desk giving out orders. It’s a very foolish executive or boss who works that way.

A wise executive, when he wants to get a certain thing done, calls in his counselors and listens to them, and then decides whose advice is best. And whom does the executive appoint to carry out that job?—One of the others that had a different plan? Of course not! He gives the job to the one whose idea it was. Any smart executive is going to pump people power! He is not going to try to be the pump, or the pump handle, or the water, or the bucket. He’s merely going to be the guiding hand that takes hold of the handle and pumps. All he does is keep the pump in motion.

A good executive will try to keep everybody happy, because everybody has a right to be happy and to do the work he likes to do and wants to do if he’s qualified. If there’s going to be an effective team, every member must work together with all the other members—not just one, not justa few, not even the majority, but all! They must learn to work together, listen to each other, counsel together, agree together, decide together, and then work it out together.

As in the human body, you can’t say that you have no need of even one little member. You need every fingernail, every cell, as well as every organ, and every limb. Every member of the team is needed and everybody is important, from the lowliest to the mightiest, from the most insignificant to the seemingly most important. Everyone has his job, everyone is needed, and all must work together in unity, harmony, and cooperation.

Talk together, discuss together, counsel together, agree together, decide together, care together, grow together, and enjoy the results of your work together. Then and only then will you be a wise leader and a good executive.

He that is greatest among the people is a servant of all.If there’s going to be an effective team, every member must work together with all the other members.