Stanley McChrystal's Ted Talk: Listen, learn...then lead

Good Morning! I watched this Ted Talk given by Stanley McChrystal who is a General in the U.S. Army. I ordinarily don't seek out Ted Talks that speak on politics or war, but this talk was within a Ted playlist called "Listen Up." This particular playlist is comprised of 8 talks given by different speakers on the importance of listening. Listening is an area of my life that I am constantly working on. I actually went to sleep last night feeling guilty for not being a better listener to a new friend. I watched a speech in this playlist the other day, and thought that it might be a great way to relieve some guilt this morning and learn a thing or two about listening. 

The talk also focuses on leadership, and how a successful leader has to be willing to listen and learn from his followers. The talk is a little over 15 minutes and I definitely would recommend watching it. But if you haven't the time, here are some memorable quotes from General McChrystal. 

"Leaders can let you fail, and yet not let you be a failure."

"How does a leader stay credible and legitimate when they haven't done what the people you're leading are doing? It's a brand new leadership challenge and 

it forced me to become a lot more transparent, a lot more willing to listen and a lot more willing to become reverse mentored from lower."

"I came to believe that a leader isn't good because they're right. They're good because they are willing to learn and to trust."

http://www.ted.com/playlists/92/listen_up.html

Enjoy!