The Best Leaders Don’t Always Answer First
ReLeader Real Talk #4
In meetings, the most insecure leaders speak first and loudest.
Strong leaders ask more than they answer. They create space before they fill it.
Harvard Business Review calls this the “leader-in-the-center” model—where great leaders resist solving every problem immediately and instead draw out the gold in the room.
Today, in your next meeting or 1-on-1, ask a powerful question... and wait. Give others room to think, speak, and contribute.
You don’t need to prove you’re the smartest. You just need to lead the smartest room.
I’ve suffered from acute insecurities and it’s a fear driven emotional state. It’s terribly defensive and driven to overreact. Compulsively reactionary- no peacefulness and consideration in leading. Recognizing it and and welcoming the Holy Spirit to guide us into the Truth of who we are in Christ allowing him to reprogram us into the secure and wisdom filled image of Christ, we can become the effective and compassionate leaders our Father created us to be. It requires humility. We can ask questions and rest and trust in our secure identity allowing others to share and participate as a team and not be afraid to be wrong or not have all the best answers. We can even laugh at ourselves when we make a mistake. What freedom.
This is great parenting advice! So many times I plan to correct, only to find, when asking questions, that my perspective was very narrow thus not seeing the whole picture. When I give my son space to share his thoughts on things, it changes the entire dynamics and my perspective!