June 27, 2017

Ep03: When Leadership = Looking Dumb?

When Leadership = Looking Dumb?  “Are we weird?” is the topic at hand this week, and Jodi and Eliot talk about how a lot of business people feel that they should have the answers to all of the business questions that pop...

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When Leadership = Looking Dumb? 

“Are we weird?” is the topic at hand this week, and Jodi and Eliot talk about how a lot of business people feel that they should have the answers to all of the business questions that pop up.   

Why is that important for business?  

Because leadership is this wild vat of uncertainty, and almost every day, people want to know if their problems are weird. 

But here’s the thing: leadership doesn’t look like knowing the answers. Knowing all of the answers is usually about wanting to look good; it takes courage to ask the questions.  

Jodi quotes Julio Olalla from one of her favorite videos (http://bit.ly/2s9kehH) as saying “knowledge is a love affair of answers. Wisdom is a love affair with the questions…”   

You earn the right to give direction by not having the answers and asking the questions.  

The reason that people and companies need leadership is that there are nuanced complexities that have to be navigated, and you can’t see them until you ask the questions.  

Sometimes the best thing to say is “tell me what you know”. 

And sometimes, in that emotional insecurity, there’s a reluctance to admit sameness. Often, your problems are not as unique are you think they are. Like a teenager, business people are in this tension between standing out and fitting in – you want to know your problems aren’t weird, but you want to be different. The same push-pull exists between wanting to be on your own, but not; being captain of your own ship, but still being part of a loosely defined fleet.  

 

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