If you were alive around the time “Dead Poets Society” was popular, back in 1989 (has it been that long already?!), I’m sure you’ve heard the phrase <em>Carpe Diem</em>. In Latin, this translates to “Seize the Day.”

Effective leaders learn to recognize and then “seize the moment” whenever it presents itself.

I was recently working on a networking site where someone asked a simple question. They wanted to know how to get their business found easily and inexpensively on the internet. This was a question that I had the answer to, so I took the time to provide an informative answer. When I finished my response, I realized that this was probably a very common question. So, I took the material I started with and repurposed it into a post for my <a href="http://alewebsocial.com/2010/10/19/9-easy-and-inexpensive-ways-for-businesses-to-get-found/">blog</a>. (One that I might note was picked up by Alltop’s Facebook account.)

Once that was completed, I saw the leadership lesson in the process, so I started on this post for the Lead Change group.

The point is this: Effective leaders recognize that there is no such thing as a “stupid question,” and when someone asks them for information, they make sure it’s communicated to everyone who might benefit from it.

Answers aren’t locked behind closed doors, and provided during one-on-ones. There’s no such thing as a “need to know” basis for most information. For the team to function effectively, everyone has to be on the same page of the playbook. And it’s the leader’s responsibility to ensure that their followers have the information they need to succeed at whatever task lies before them.

So, how’s your team doing? Are they all on the same page? If not, what are you going to do to seize the moment and bring clarity to the situation?