IT THOUGHT LEADERSHIP

Last week I mentioned that I was in Portugal attending a conference and that I took a few days to spend in Madrid beforehand, just to experience the city as a tourist.  I am not very familiar with Spain, so while there I stayed curious and asked a lot of questions. I asked questions about the food, the wine, the sites, as well as what to do, when to do it, and how to do it. I asked and got lots of help from strangers. Despite all of the help I had I still made mistakes, learned from them and moved on to continue my exploration of the city. You may be thinking that is normal for a tourist, and I would agree.

During the conference I attended, one of the speakers suggested that we do the same in our companies and be tourists. How? Ask lots of questions, don’t pretend to be an expert, request help from others and make mistakes. Seems logical but it isn’t always the most common way we as leaders behave. When you stop and think about it, how else does one learn and grow if not to be curious, collaborative and open to asking for help?

Imagine if we did this not only when we travel but in everything we do. It is impossible to know everything, though I know folks that believe they do. I am never the smartest in the room, I am always learning something from someone and that happens when I ask questions and then actively listen. I like to think I will always be a tourist and keep learning something new each day.

How do you plan on applying a tourist mindset to your weekend?

“Take the attitude of a student, never be too big to ask questions, never know too much to learn something new.” – Og Mandino

Have a great weekend.

Vijay