I listened to a privileged woman make demeaning remark after remark at a decision-making meeting that affected countless people. From her position of privilege, she was blinded to the reality of the situation, and when well-meaning constituents tried to make her aware of the harsh realities that existed, she dismissed their comments without any true understanding, empathy, or education about the reality and potential the situation held. The woman saw herself as a great advantage in the situation. She felt that she had the monopoly on wisdom, a wisdom she clearly felt came from her growing up years as a privileged individual. She had great advantage, little struggle, and a seemingly dearth of variability in her life.
I bet that many of us can recall a time in our lives when we were so painfully narrow minded and blinded to the reality that existed. In times like these, rather than listen to those we serve, we lead with our own experiences and outlook alone, and that is never a good way to lead. To lead in such a narrow way greatly wastes time and potential.
It's far easier to simply lead from your own point of view without regard, empathy, research, or understanding about the greater issue at play. It takes time, humility, and respect to listen to others, hear their point of view, research the facts, and integrate all of that into positive decisions, but if we don't do that we simply create shoddy solutions that serve few to none today and into the future.
We see lazy, uninformed, self-serving leaders like this in every corner of our lives. We have to resist temptations to become leaders like that, and we have to stand up to people who lead in that way. Onward.