Yes Steve, I suppose I shouldn’t take that for granted. Leaders should also listen. Good leaders all do. But listeners do not always lead.

Often, people who simply listen for what people want end up pandering to perceived needs. This isn’t necessarily healthy, although it can be profitable.

But steward leadership works to find solutions that are higher on Maslow’s hierarchy, and that sustain long and short term goals. This is bigger than a marketing plan. It includes listening, and an understanding of context that is unspoken, too.

Since I talked about justice and other higher order concerns, I thought listening was a given.