RONALD REAGAN'S SECRET

What most people want in a leader is something that's very difficult to find: we want someone who listens.

Why is it so had to find a leader who can listen?

Because it's easy to confuse listening to individuals with "going with the crowd" or "following the polls." It's easy for a leader with a vision to give up on listening because, after all, most people want you to be average, and that doesn't get you anywhere. If Henry Ford had listened, the old saying goes, we'd have better buggy whips today, not cars.

The secret, Reagan's secret, is to listen, to value what you hear, and then to make a decision even if it contradicts the very people you are listening to. Reagan impressed his advisers, his adversaries, and his voters by actively listening. People want to be sure you heard what they said - they're less focused on whether or not you do what they said.

When Graham Weston, executive chairman of Rackspace, wanted to persuade his talented and somewhat skittish staff to move with him to the new headquarters in a depressed area of town, he didn't lecture them or even try to cajole them. All he did was listen. He met with every one of the employees who was hesitating about the move and let them air their views. That's what it took to lead them: he listened.

Listen, really listen. Then decide and move on.

Seth Godin

Tribes - We Need You to Lead Us

(2008 - pp. 127-8)