Being Last to Speak!

Nelson Mandela is universally regarded as great leaders. He was actually the son of a tribal chief. He was asked once, how did you learn to be a great leader? He responded that "He used to go with his father to tribal meetings and he remembers two things when his father would meet with other elders. First, they would always sit in a circle. Second, his father was always last to speak."

We are always told in our whole life that we need to lean to listen. But I think we should learn to be the last to speak. The skill to hold your opinion to yourself until everyone else has spoken does two things. First, It gives everyone else the feeling that they have been heard and they have contributed. Second, You have the benefit of hearing everyone else before you render your opinion. The skill is to keep your opinion to yourself. If you agree with somebody don't nod 'yes'. If you disagree with somebody don't nod 'no'. Simply sit there, just actively listen to everybody else and the only thing that you are allowed to do is to ask the questions. So that you can understand what they mean and why they have the opinion that they have. At the end you will get your turn to speak. Then your opinion would have a superior value.

It's simple, But it's not easy. That's the leadership.

#Leadership