Listen to customers. Listen to people on the production line. Managers are not accustomed to listening. They are accustomed to issuing directives and having them obeyed. But everybody who has ever studied the problem of leadership agrees that good leaders listen to what other people have to contribute.
Effective leaders have a respect for, and an interest in, people.
Listening to people is an effective way to get them involved in the problem-solving process. Listening is a way to absorb new information, and act on it. And good information is important. If we fail to recognize its generative properties, we will be unable to manage in this new world. After You've Got Those Down Pat . . .