Three Ways to Be a More Effective Leader

Facebook Business

March 25, 2019

Three and a Half Degrees, an original podcast series by Facebook, brings together unexpected pairings of business leaders, mavericks and entrepreneurs who share surprising parallels in values, visions, experiences and ideas. Hosted by David Fischer, Facebook’s VP of Business and Marketing Partnerships, this podcast series shares common lessons learned when building new businesses in today’s age of connectivity. Tune in to hear stories of challenges and triumphs, get inspired by innovative entrepreneurs and learn from the common practices, insights and motivations of successful business leaders.

Think about the best leaders you know. Do they pride themselves on knowing everything or are they open to new ideas and welcoming of feedback? In the latest episode of Three and a Half Degrees, we connect Ben Rattray, Founder of with hotelier and entrepreneur Chip Conley of Airbnb. The two share how wisdom and leadership are not necessarily about knowing every answer or doing everything yourself. They discuss lessons they've learned along the way that helped form their perspectives on wisdom, and how that's shaped them into more impactful leaders. They offer three ways to be a more effective leader.

1. Be a vulnerable visionary

While it's important to remain focused on your mission and vision, Conley and Rattray both emphasize the value in questioning your vision and methods along the way. The wisest leaders strike a balance of confidence and doubt that helps uncover vulnerabilities in plans while still pushing the main objective forward. Welcoming questioning along the way can ultimately help strengthen your end result by forcing you to address concerns and potential blind spots early on.

2. Actively seek feedback

Both entrepreneurs share that as a business leader, you don't need to know everything, and that actually, there is wisdom in sharing what you don't know, and being eager to fill in the gaps. They both emphasize the importance of proactively seeking feedback and new perspectives, and being willing to learn and adapt accordingly. Gaining fresh perspectives and leaning on the knowledge and expertise of others are not shortcomings in a leader, but rather markers of some of the wisest leaders.

3. Empower others

Conley and Rattray tell us that in order to be an effective leader, you should view your role as a facilitator of your team and its success. By encouraging collaboration and empowering others to take ownership of their line of work, you can maximize the efficiency and impact of your unit. Try asking “why” and “what if” questions to push your team to dig deeper and uncover solutions themselves.

Check out this week's episode for more leadership wisdom.

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