Consulting specialist Elaine Biech stated, “Often it is what you learn after you know it all that counts!”
How often do we come across someone who is a self-professed “expert” in their field, convinced that they have all the knowledge they or you might ever need to do the job? Unfortunately, when someone embraces this status, it is a huge red flag signaling their halt to a willingness to learn anything further, which will result in stagnation for their organization. The best consultants, team members, and leaders are those who are in a state of continual learning, and fully understanding that there is always something that they don’t know.
It requires a high level of self-aware emotional intelligence and an even higher level of personal and professional humility. If a leader ever starts to claim that they alone know what is best and how to do everyone else’s job better than they do, run! It will often come out in extreme micro-management and a false environment of so-called collaboration. When you hear the words “the best idea wins” watch to see if the leader shows that by truly listening to others, or is convinced that their idea is always the best one!
True leaders know that they don’t know it all. As Graham Standish discusses, they know that they are not the only one who God may choose to speak to. They continue to learn even after they appear to know it all.
Lead well.