Being an Extraordinary Leader Means Considering All Sides of an Issue

Wednesday February 5, 2014 comments

"Don't take the wrong side of an argument just because your opponent has taken the right side."

                                                                      Baltasar Gracian

A recent business meeting facilitator asked us to share what we were reading. I mentioned I was re-reading Gracian’s “The Art of Worldly Wisdom,” a book gifted to me twenty years ago by Mentor and friend Dr. John Jones.

The book was written over three hundred years ago based on this Jesuit scholar’s study of leaders and their attempts to combine ethical behavior with worldly effectiveness.

Increasingly, I see the wisdom inherent in the above quote. I also regularly observe our leaders and spokespeople behave in ways that show no respect for his wise coaching.

Having Baltasar Gracian’s counsel become practice requires first, an awareness of when we are just reacting; then taking personal responsibility for our state of being; and finally, communicating from our authentic truth.  Simple and not easy. Of course, your comments and questions are welcome.  I promise to not automatically take the other side!

With love and respect,