Listen First, Speak Last

Listen first, speak last.

Peter Drucker in The Effective Executive, page xxiii

I did not expect to find “listen first, speak last” in a book on business leadership. But there it was. Peter Drucker elevated it to a rule for executives to follow.

This didn’t play into my stereotype of the brash, bombastic, self-assured, influential executive. Aren’t leaders supposed to be the boss and have people do their bidding? At least that was the excuse I used when I tried to reason why some are leaders and others are followers.

Now I know that Drucker’s rule rings true. Informed executives need to get all the information they can to make decisions. If a leader spends all his time speaking, he’ll never get the information he needs.

An informed leader needs to get information before others hear her biases. If employees only speak what they think their leader wants to hear, It isn’t much help.

The words pouring from our mouths can make things better or worse. If we are quick to speak, we may say things that will tear down all the work we have achieved. And above all, use wise words!

So before you let your tongue get in the wrecking business, listen first, speak last. Learn from others before you let your opinions harden. You don’t need to tape your mouth shut, but you do need to consider our words before we speak. This is especially true for leaders.

Editor’s Note: I originally published this blog on October 6, 2015. I revamped and updated it for timeliness and comprehensiveness.