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Leading Quietly:

Often times it is the quiet people that prove to be the best leaders, rather than the outspoken show-off. This is exactly the point in the book Leading Quietly written by Joseph Badaracco. In his writing, he states that a good leader must posses two main qualities. The first is to lead quietly, and the second being having the moral dimension of leadership. When he says to lead quality, he states that in most cases, the successful leaders are those who do not waste time being boastful about what they can do. Rather they focus on what they need to do to help the company. “Quiet leadership is what moves and changes the world.”
The next main point talks about the moral aspects of running a business, such as being realistic to what needs to be done within the company. Basarracco offers (4) main principles to help maintain a realistic view of the world. They are as follows: 1. You don’t know everything. When you are willing to admit this fact, you will be able to listen to suggestions that may be better than yours. 2. You will be surprised. Regardless to what you think you know there will be things that surprise you. When you realize this, you will be able to adjust a lot easier. 3. Keep an eye on the insiders. Know who the people are that work in your company. If you do not know what is going on on the inside, you cannot control it. 4. Trust, but cut the cards. It is important to trust the people you are working with, but never let everything ride on something they do.
I read this book last year, and I found there were many good things that it pointed out. In my opinion, the best piece of advice this book gives is the fact that you don’t know everything. In our transition of entering the business world, it is vital that we take with us this piece of information. We will never know everything, and when we are willing to accept this point, we will be able to accept the views of others and can realize that they might know more than we do.