Branson as passed the age of 60 and his achievements are no less than remarkable and inspiring: from a 16 year old high-school drop-out, dyslexia, lots of drugs, sex, rock and roll, extreme sport and danger to becoming No. 261 on Forbes' "World Billionaires" list with his $2.5 billion in self-made fortune, which includes two private islands.
No less remarkable to me is the fact that Branson invests much time, resources, money and contacts into helping others get ahead in their lives, businesses and communities.
Which is why I particularly liked what Branson said in his blog:
"...It’s often easy to spot an inexperienced leader.
If you see someone raising his voice at employees, stuttering nervously in front of a group or avoiding admitting when he’s wrong, that’s a person who is just starting out...if you want to stand out as a leader, a good place to begin is by listening.
Any organization’s best assets are its people, and if you are ready to help the team to achieve its goals, you can start gathering information on how to move things along just by paying attention to what employees are saying .
This skill will help you throughout your career.
Leaders who are great listeners are often terrific at uncovering and putting in place strategies and plans that have a big impact..."
Sounds simple, right? Unfortunately not so simple- just see at your next team meeting, board meeting, and so on, stop and observe how often people are really listening and how often they are talking or just getting ready to reply- not really listening.
That is the "ego factor" that I work on all the time in our mastermind groups, even if it is not specifically stated, because in the DunetzMastermind setting listening is key.
Because better listening means better leadership, better leadership means better motivation, better execution, better success.
And life looks a lot more interesting when you are out there listening...go give it a try and let me know what you find!
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