Francesca Zambello, artistic director of the Washington National Opera, has been in leadership positions since she was in her 20s but says it's only lately that she has learned to listen effectively. The importance of humility and listening to others comes into focus only as leaders grow older, she adds. "Creativity cannot explode if you do not have the ability to step back, take in what everybody else says and then fuse it with your own ideas," she says.