Only a few, if any, leaders are experts in every need for leadership. That is why great leaders surround themselves with the inner circle of trusted advisors. However, in order for someone to act as a true leader, he must have sufficient knowledge and wisdom to be able to make judgments in a timely manner, being able to evaluate facts, opinions and situations. For this reason, the greatest leaders always have a lot of common knowledge, and often have specialized experience in certain valuable and important areas. Blaise Pascal summarized it like this: “Since we cannot know everything that is not known about anything, we bought it to find out about everything.”
1. General knowledge is a requirement for effective leadership. How can any person be able to be successful and effective if he does not have everyone to understand all the facts that may be involved? Being a leader is often a rather difficult task requiring special skills. It is obvious that different people have different areas of knowledge. It is absurd to expect any leader to know everything about everything, but it is important that they all show much more than average general knowledge, as well as an open mind for effective listening and the ability to evaluate facts, figures and opinions, as well as make an inevitable and timely decision. .
2. What types of people are needed to be part of a meaningful and valuable inner circle of advisors? These people must have experience in different and different areas, with all the expected needs covered by someone else's experience. The leader should not agree with the advice, but should be confident and feel comfortable that the advice provided is free, and someone's honest opinion and preference. More importantly, this group is not just made up of yes-men, but rather people who have self-confidence and integrity to express their opinions without fear or trembling. All members of this committee or group must agree to the confidentiality pact so that they can openly express their opinion without worrying about how the opinion can be interpreted from the context. Regardless of the opinions of this group, the responsibility for making the final decision and taking timely measures lies solely on the shoulders of the leader. The inner circle is no excuse for leaders to postpone personal responsibility, and true leaders use their common knowledge and personal strengths to make meaningful decisions.
For great leadership, you never need to consider only one factor. However, if someone has a much better average of general / general knowledge combined with inner strength, determination, and personal integrity, the organization will suffer.
