Start With A Question

How do I know when I'm wrong?

Have you ever thought about that? I know when I'm right -- don't you? But, there's my question. Don't I always feel like I'm right? Why else would I feel what I feel? Why else would I think what I think?

There have been times -- well, OK, YEARS when I have clung to an idea that I thought was completely right only to discover later that it was not as clearly right as I thought. Things are usually more complicated than we give them credit for. What once made sense, over time, can take on new meaning or change completely.

We're going thru a LOT of that now. Things are changing faster and faster. Ideas are morphing and transforming and fizzling and sizzling all over every day. What do we do with all that?

The more we cling to something that is wrong (inaccurate, unhelpful, disrespectful) the less good it does us or anyone else. Why do we do it?

Sometimes, we don't know what we don't know.

It's like a moment in time, on a slightly windy day, at an elevation higher than you're comfortable standing, and starting to lean on a guardrail only to feel it give a little. That little adrenaline rush of "yikes," that moment of fear of falling -- that's what I now try to be open to when it comes to ideas that are just no longer sturdy. They won't keep me from falling.

How do I know when I'm wrong? I won't, unless I first ask a question.

What if instead of our stubborn certainty we started with a question?

I'll try. How about you?

-- doug smith

Comments

The Right People

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More, please

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Shortcut

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Focused Truth

Focused leaders have zero time for inauthentic messages. They tell the truth unconditionally and insist on the truth consistently. Be a leader who can handle the truth. Be a leader who tells the truth. -- doug smith

Better Results

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Develop a Range of Skills

As leaders our development is never done. There is always more to learn, more to master. It's possible to get the "people part" of leadership right and still fail as a leader. Strategy, critical-thinking, planning, and problem solving are still critical. What have you learned today? -- doug smith

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