Recently I was in a leadership meeting as the agenda gave way to discussing a portion of a book we were all asked to read by the chairman. The book, It’s Your Ship, was written by a captain and former commander of the US Navy, Captain D. Michael Abrashoff.
As one might imagine, the book navigates through leadership using examples from the Navy, while weaving the same concepts into any organization. The topic we were to discuss was found near the middle of the book; innovation knows no rank.
Abrashoff points out that officers are TRAINED NOT to listen to their crew or their ideas and concentrate on the issues at hand, a quality of which the captain doesn’t adhere. He believes that “every leader needs big ears and zero tolerance for stereotyping.”
How many ideas, opportunities missed, or solutions have we dismissed solely on who was making the suggestion? As leaders, it’s imperative that we value the voices which surround us and grasp the notion that sometimes it takes 1000 bad ideas to come up with one good one, no matter who is delivering the message.
Be good to yourself…
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