Career News 24/7: INSTANT MBA: Get Rid Of Your Ego And Listen

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Monday, June 3, 2013

Today's advice comes from J.W. Marriott Jr., executive chairman and former C.E.O. of Marriott International via The New York Times:

"The four most important words in the English language are, “What do you think?” Listen to your people and learn."

Marriott says bosses often don't ask this question because the ego jumps in. They think, "Why should I ask if I already know the answer?" If you let your employees know that you know, it indicates that you're not interested in what they have to say. This prevents you from building a relationship with your employees, which is crucial to the success of any business.

"It took me almost 35 years to get to the point where I had a team that really worked well together and weren’t competing as much and were doing the best they could to support the company instead of themselves. I’ve learned that ego’s important, but if it overrides everything else, it isn’t going to work for me or our company."

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