The six Worst Words a Boss Can Say

I remember when I was first starting out in management, I had a boss who loved saying, “It’s my way or the highway.” Every time I heard it, it rubbed me the wrong way. Even back then, I thought it was one of the dumbest management philosophies I had ever heard.

Why? Because nobody, no matter how smart they think they are, has all the answers.

Over the years, whether I was running stores, managing districts, hiring people, or running my own business, I learned that some of the best ideas come from the people closest to the work. The cashier who deals with customers every day. The stock person who unloads the trucks. The salesperson who hears the same questions over and over. Those people often see problems and opportunities long before management does.

I used to love when someone came to me and asked, “Why do we do it this way?”

Some managers hear that question and immediately get defensive. They think their authority is being challenged. I always saw it differently. To me, it was an opportunity to learn something. Sometimes there was a good reason we did things a certain way. But sometimes there wasn’t. Sometimes we were doing something simply because that’s the way it had always been done.

That’s a dangerous trap for any organization.

Many of my greatest successes in life didn’t come from my own ideas. They came from listening to the ideas, suggestions, and experiences of other people. A good leader doesn’t need to be the smartest person in the room. A good leader surrounds himself with smart people and isn’t afraid to use their ideas.

The companies and organizations that stop listening eventually stop growing. The ones that thrive create a culture where people feel comfortable speaking up, questioning old methods, and suggesting better ones.

Real leadership isn’t “my way or the highway.”

Real leadership is being secure enough to admit that somebody else might have a better way.

The older I get, the more convinced I am that success is rarely a solo act. Most of us accomplish our biggest goals because we listened to the right person at the right time.

Sometimes the smartest thing a leader can say is “OK we will try it YOUR way.”