Do you agree or disagree with the following statement? A good leader should spend more time listening to other people's ideas than taking his/her own ideas.
People attend to various groups in their day-to-day life, from social, education, or entertainment groups to working ones. A group depends on certain factors to be an effective and successful group. One of the most vital factors is having a good leader. Although some people may think that a good leader should be dominant and capable of making others' ideas in accord with her ideas, I firmly believe that a good leader should allocate enough time to listen to other people's points of view. In other words, a good leader is a good listener. In the following paragraphs, l will shed light on my rationales.
First and foremost, when a group or company runs into difficulties, investigating the problems from various perspectives would definitely help it overcome the troubles more effortlessly. Different people introduce different ideas when facing a particular issue. Sometimes leaders are so busy that they can’t think with an open fresh mind about the obstacle they are facing. In such situations, listening to other people's opinions help the leader think more effectively, and maybe she can solve the problem by combining various ideas and creating a perfect solution. I do believe that, in order to climb the ladder of success, it is essential for a company or group to have a good leader, not just a boss. A boss is a stubborn person who only takes her own ideas to manage a group and makes the other ones obey her decisions. However, a leader sees herself among the other members trying her best to achieve their unique goal. She knows that each member tries hard for the group's success as well as her, so their ideas will absolutely be helpful in various conditions. For instance, I was working in a company two years ago. After one year, the company ran into serious difficulties because of the covid-19 pandemic. The boss did not take notice of the employees' innovative ideas. I personally had various impressive ideas to solve the problem, but I could not even share them with the company. As a result, most employees, including me, resigned from their jobs, and the company could not continue to work anymore. Had the boss paid attention to the employees' ideas, the company could get rid of the problems.
On top of that, when a leader listens to the other members' ideas, the group environment becomes fresher, evolving day-to-day, and friendly. In this situation, group members feel comfortable and valuable because of the fact that their ideas are taken into consideration by the leader. Thanks to this situation, the members become more self-confident. For instance, I know a prosperous biomedical engineering company with a remarkable leader named Mahdieh. She is a great listener. She always takes decisions by assessing all the employees' opinions. One time I visited this company. Their company environment was so fresh and happy that all the employees were enjoying their work. They had such a great relationship with their leader that I was really surprised. Now I understand their secret to success indeed.
To wrap it up, all the aforementioned reasons lead to the point that a good leader is a good listener. By listening to others' opinions, a leader not only could make more intelligent decisions but also could make the group environment happier and fresher. So, it is more reasonable to take time and listen to others' perspectives.
Submitted by Samira Abedini on