We recently read a book written by an author whose economic positions are diametrically opposite from ours. We read it because there is one aspect to our position that bothers us, and we wanted to find out what he had to say on that point. Although the author didn’t offer a solution we would endorse, we gained a much better understanding of where he is coming from — and that solidified and deepened our commitment to our original position. Too often we observe leaders who just parrot their mentor or hero, as it may be, and do not have as deep a knowledge of the subject matter as we believe they should. We think such a lack of knowledge and understanding hurts these leaders’ effectiveness with their team members.

When is the last time you read a book or listened to a speaker who has a viewpoint that’s different than yours?