The Listening Leader

"Everything rises and falls on Leadership."
- John Maxwell


I've just finished the Leadership Module of my MBA class. And one of my take-homes is about the Listening Leader. In the old model of leadership, the leader commands and controls. There's not much listening involved. But in the new model, leaders are more open. They don't know everything, but they know how to find the answers. And here are the practical benefits of being a Listening Leader:

• A bond of respect is forged between the leader and his followers.
• There is more productivity.
• Heads are cooler.
• Everyone has more confidence.
• There is more accuracy.
• Innovative solutions are generated.
• There is total quality management.

I agree to this wholeheartedly. I am not always the strong and compassionate leader I aspire to be. I often find myself interrupting or raising my voice when someone annoys me. But I do believe the new model of leadership, where leaders listen, is the way to go, especially in the game industry. I have observed that many times, the followers, who came into the industry because of their love of games, are more in tune with what players like than their leaders. The demands of running a business sometimes takes too much of the leader's attention that many a time, we forget about why we went into this in the first place.