LISTENING, By RICHARD BRANSON: When thinking about the most important qualities of great leaders, one might think of being able to inspire others, the ability to delegate, having problem-solving skills, you name it. But when asked by an Entrepreneur reader about how to stand out as a leader, acclaimed Virgin Group founder Richard Branson offered something different. To be a great leader, and to be successful, one must be a good listener. If you want to stand out as a leader, a good place to begin is by listening, he said. The best teams and bosses pay attention and value the others perspective. Great listeners are often terrific at uncovering and putting in place strategies and plans that have a big impact, Branson continued. Being able to provide encouragement to aspiring business leaders has been invaluable because those conversations spark his ideas, too, he said “It’s often easy to spot an inexperienced leader. If you see someone raising his voice at employees, stuttering nervously in front of a group or avoiding admitting when he’s wrong, that’s a person who is just starting out. Corentin, if you want to stand out as a leader, a good place to begin is by listening. Any organization’s best assets are its people, and if you are ready to help the team to achieve its goals, you can start gathering information on how to move things along just by paying attention to what employees are saying. This skill will help you throughout your career. Leaders who are great listeners are often terrific at uncovering and putting in place strategies and plans that have a big impact. (A term one of my editors suggested is “force multipliers.”) Which brings me to Lola’s question. It has turned out that Virgin’s successes have allowed my colleagues and me to devote a lot of our time and energy to helping others. Providing the encouragement and advice that young people need to start companies and help their communities is one of the most rewarding things we do. There is never enough time or money to help everyone who needs it, so we use our background in business and leadership to try to reach as many people as we can -- multiplying our forces! We supply practical advice through discussions and speeches; offer courses at our Branson Centres for Entrepreneurship in Johannesburg, South Africa, and Montego Bay, Jamaica; and provide access to a network of mentors through our foundation Virgin Unite.” #ATL.
Posted on: Sun, 20 Jul 2014 03:42:54 +0000
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