We either are this person or know this person.  The person who has this great idea, the idea they’re so excited and/or passionate about that they can’t stop talking about how it is going to change the way we think or do things.  Perhaps it’s something they’ve done before with a different group and it worked beautifully there so of course it would work again in a different setting for another organization.  And so they run it by their friends or colleagues, people they work with and trust to see what they think, completely convinced that this group is going to be just an enthused about the wonderful idea.  And then it happens.  Everyone says it’s a bad idea.  Now comes the challenge. As a leader, do you listen to the advice and either tweak or chuck the idea, or do you take a chance, go against the advice and do what you believe is the right thing to do?

The key question here is, IS IT THE RIGHT THING TO DO?  And who defines right?  As the person who came up with the idea, they have a personal stake in this, they’re tied emotionally to the idea.  So when the idea is rejected, the leader has a choice. Do I use my position to do what I want because I feel or think it’s right, or do I listen to the advice and find out why it’s not such a great idea?  Do these colleagues or friends have ideas to improve upon mine?  You see, one pathway feeds the ego, the other lets go of the ego to consider others.

Now, there are examples throughout history where people went against advice to continue work on something they truly believed in and they turned out to be right.  Most of those times, however, the idea wasn’t necessarily something that was going to benefit them personally, but WOULD benefit others.  The drive to go ahead with the new idea wasn’t just so they could get their way, just to say they were “right”.  The kicker is this.  As a leader, how do I know if I’m passionate about an idea because I’m personally invested or if I really believe it’s a great idea that could change peoples’ lives? And here my friends, lies the fine line.

What happens then if a person in leadership asks for input and then completely ignores it to go on this new idea path they’ve chosen?  For a lot of people, it erodes the trust we need to work together as a team. Those who may not be where the buck stops, also want to make a difference in the lives of others, so when they’re asked for their opinion, most will want to be heard.  To listen and ignore may cause those people to be wary of  further participation, destroying the trusting relationship leaders must cultivate with those he or she serves with.  When real communication is severed, the quality of the work suffers and can ultimately end up hurting the ones we serve.

When I was first asked to be the state president of my professional organization, I’ll be honest when I say I was thinking “wow, I get to be president!”.  My next thought was, “oh my gosh.  I don’t know how to be president”.  Then my next thought was, “I need to pull some people together to advise me” and that’s exactly what I did.  Through their leadership, I learned that while being a president might be considered a bucket list item, it is really about listening to and serving people.  People and their needs and feelings should be considered above all else.  Because a true leader serves and is not necessarily served themselves. And it taught me to listen first and talk later.

Do I always get it “right” now?  No, sometimes I get way too excited about stuff and speak before I think, not always taking in all the information, not always considering all of the logistics or the people involved.  I think I’ve done a lot of that lately and I have some issues to consider before I take actions on some things. Thank goodness I’m still surrounded by great leaders who care enough about me to give me great advise, who listen before they speak, who consider others before themselves.  And they are who I want to be when I grow up.  Not needing to be right, but striving to do the right thing.