Blog

When I think of leadership listening I think of my mom, who has been a hairdresser most of her adult life.  Being a hairdresser means standing on your feet all day listening to other people’s problems and trying to make them look pretty.  For the price of a shampoo and set my mom has been listening, smiling, and acknowledging people,  making them look good and feel good about themselves for nearly 50 years.  Some people pay a therapist and don’t get as much as she offered as their “hair-apist”.

I never thought much about the role of the hairdresser other than when you find a good one you stick with them, sometimes even longer than a marriage.  It is often the hairdresser who gets the first call to be a part of the preparation for any big event in a woman’s life: proms, graduations, weddings, funerals, holidays and job interviews.

What skills does it take to be a successful hairdresser?  For 45 years my mother shampooed,...