Call it having an open-mind, being able to adapt, or being flexible, the common denominator is not being stubborn. Stubbornness goes hand-in-hand with closed-mindedness. Closed-mindedness is a quality that can render good leadership useless or even defeat leadership altogether. The connection between leadership and being open or closed-minded goes to the root of the leader-leadee relationship (I don’t like to call people followers because a follower in one relationship may be a leader in another relationship; plus it just has a negative connation to me).

Sometimes it’s difficult to be open-minded, I’ve been there, but it’s essential to leading others. It’s also important if you are the one following a leader.

Being closed-minded is a deterrent of personal development. It restricts and stunts it. You have to be willing to go out of your comfort-zone whether it’s going through new experiences or looking at situations through a different perspective. I want to focus on looking at situations through different perspectives and being open because they’re such important skills to have.

I’ve experienced what it’s like dealing with people who are closed-minded and dismiss thoughts, reasoning, or decisions because they are not their own or because they don’t understand them. I used to be one of those people, thankfully I became aware of it and changed my attitude and the way I thought. It is a very frustrating situation to deal with, and holds both parties back from any sort of personal or organizational growth.

Here’s an example that happened to me a short time ago. I had an opportunity to make significant changes to a business that’s been successful for over a decade and a half. I’ve been a close part of this business for about ten years. The current recession combined with new ownership and management resulted in lower profits and a bleak future. The changes I wanted to bring were based on my education, knowledge, and experience. I thought the changes would give new life to the business and steer it in the right direction for the future.

While presenting my ideas and explaining my reasoning, the chief decision maker who would ultimately decide whether to implement my plan said “I’ve been here 20 years, I know what my customers want.” Besides being disheartened because I really believed changes needed to be made, I knew his statement was a part of the problem. The business was targeting the wrong customer base. I tried my best to justify why the actions needed to be taken and convince this decision maker to open his mind and eyes, but to no avail. He was too set in his ways and believed his experience was all he needed to make a decision. It was this closed-mindedness that stopped all progress on the potential changes that would have been made.

This concept is also known as “buy-in”. Buy-in is important in the leader-leadee relationship. If the leader does not have complete buy-in from the leadee, the situation is doomed to fail. While it is the leaders responsibility to make the leadee buy-in (or else they wouldn’t be a “leader”), but ultimately the leader can only do so much before the leadee must take the final step in buying-in.

What is Good Buy-in?

Good buy-in starts with listening. It’s essential to understand what the leader is saying. Being open-minded allows for discussion and sharing that could not happen if a party was closed-minded.

Good buy-in is putting aside ego and pride, being objective, and putting the organization first.

Good buy-in is having faith in leadership and trusting in their decisions.

Good buy-in is believing in the leader’s vision and playing the support role to make the vision come to fruition.