Investing in relationships

One of the leadership books I am reading has a section about how to prepare to lead. Unprepared leaders can derail a meeting even if other participants are prepared. A first step in that preparation process is to ask the right questions. For example, What is the purpose of the meeting?, What needs to be accomplished?, What are the limits of the group?, and Who will attend? In my life, I have meetings every day. In many of those cases I am,at least in part, leading that meeting. Variety of thought and viewpoints is helpful to keep my thinking fresh. If I always surround myself with people who agree with me, I forget that there are other ways of looking at things. Other vantage points or "look angles" help us to see the cracks in the foundation that can cause the whole deal to come crashing down. There are times I am blind to the "elephant in the room" and the elephant is obvious to someone else in the meeting. I can usually tell by looking at people's faces if I am missing something. The key is, as always, keeping the relationship and communication current. I have had people go with me on things because of our relationship even though they didn't agree with the direction I was going. You cannot buy that kind of loyalty, it is always earned. Investing in the lives of people we are with results in a great return on investment.