Snub the allure of overconfidence

Some leaders are overconfident in their own ideas and refuse to listen to others. It's a leadership trap many people fall into the higher they rise. Here are some effective ways to avoid it:

• Develop the habit of asking people "Am I missing something here?". Do it in meetings and whenever you need to check your own take on important issues. It's a question that keeps you grounded in reality.
• Throw your ideas out for discussion alongside everyone else's. A hallmark of leadership is to identify and implement the best ideas, not pull rank.
• Let other people try their hands at managing your preferred kind of projects in their own way. Then, learn lessons from what they can accomplish.