Today I learned a really important leadership lesson. Trust the expertise around you.
I’m going to try to be careful not to give too many details about experiences here, but here’s a general summary. On a particular project, I was too scared of what I couldn’t control to let another person suggest a different way. So I spent the last 8 months suffering through this project not going very well. This time when the suggestion came up again, I realized the wisdom of it. I wished that way back when, I had listened and taken the time to find out which way was really the better choice. That I had trusted the expertise around me.
To trust the expertise around you, you have to realize it’s there. It takes time to know people. To stop and think about who might be able to help. To not be in such a hurry to follow a great idea that there’s no room for others’ wisdom.
It’s a lesson I want to remember. So I’m writing it down here. Stay tuned for more!