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Openness and Teachability
December 20th, 2012
by Bill Boyajian

To be a good leader, you need to be a good learner. You need to be open to new ideas and able to learn and benefit from others. You need to be teachable. Because leaders are freewheeling, they take risks when others back off. They march to their own beat while others fall in line. They think outside the boundaries while others stay inside the lines. Despite all this, a leader must be disciplined and must exercise self-control. Self-control helps build confidence and keeps us open to what others think. Without it, we are unlikely to build anything of lasting value.

I’ve known leaders who can’t borrow an idea from anyone else. They can’t even listen to others in order to learn for themselves. They are compulsive in doing things their own way. This gets discouraging for followers. They see their leader as a controller who can’t take direction and won’t learn from others. Such a leader drags people down and lacks credibility. Instead, be open. Be teachable. Be disciplined. Have self-control. These will make you a credible leader.



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–Charles Denaburg,
Managing Partner,
Levy’s Fine Jewelry
Birmingham, AL

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–Ceylon Leitzel
Leitzel Fine Jewelry
Hershey & Myerstown, PA

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–Ernie & Debbie Cummings
Kizer-Cummings Jewelers
Lawrence, KS