As many of you know, I'm a big time blogger. I've been writing this blog since 2005, and another blog since 2007. I actually own 5 blogs, and I write articles for other people's blogs. I've been asked here and there to write a guest post here and there for other people's blogs like this one.

Listen to the voiceless
Sarah Joy via Compfight

One thing that I believe is a necessity if you're a blogger is responding to people who comment on your blog. The way I see it, if you don't respond to comments it either shows that you don't care or that you're incompetent. When your blog is associated with your business, that's not a good thing to indicate, even if you don't realize that's what you're doing.

I once wrote an article on the topic of perception. I stated that inaction creates as much perception as actions do, and doing something halfway, such as writing blog articles but not responding to the comments they generate, gives those people who commented a negative reaction. If you're not going to respond to comments either turn them off, stop blogging, or consider your articles as your thoughts about life and let people know you could care less what they think. Tough but accurate in my opinion.

Here's something to think about. Has it occurred to you that sometimes you show great leadership in inviting others to comment on what you have to say and then giving them thought provoking responses in return? Not that every response to a comment has to be worthy of a Pulitzer, but sometimes a person commenting might have a great point, or could be way off the mark, and you're missing your chance to establish your influence and ability as a leader by ignoring the comment altogether.

Some would ask "how is that leadership"? Every person who writes a blog is a type of leader; think about it. They've decided to put their words out, whether it's to inform, educate or entertain. When they do that, it had the potential of leading to a discussion on whatever the topic is that was written about. It's not leadership in the traditional sense, but it's still leadership.

Take it out of the realm of blogging; bring it back into the business world. If you're in a leadership position, being the one who's always dictating policy without debate isn't what makes people great leaders. What makes people great leaders is when they've put a lot of thought into something, presents it to others, then allows others to comment on it.

As a leader, you don't just listen and not give any feedback; you respond with your comments, even if they might be somewhat noncommittal. After all, if someone hits you with a point you hadn't thought of, a proper response might be "let me think about that one for a bit"; it's to be expected.

Leadership by invitation; it's a pretty good concept, whether it's about blogging or about business. In my life, sometimes, it's about both.