Over the years I’ve heard thousands of different definitions of leadership from the participants in my seminars. Some excellent perspectives I might add. But over all that time, I don’t ever recall hearing one quite like this, “Leadership is the conversion of relationships into energy.” Let me explain …
The ‘High Points of Leadership Survey’* which I published earlier this year, reveals the Top-10 things managers most want to know about leadership. The number two item on the list is about ‘relationships.’ Managers want to know how to “maintain, foster, develop, build, and restore” the relationships they experience at work.
Even with this topic so high on the list, I’m wondering if the majority of us truly appreciate the extent to which our work is impacted by them.
Think about all those who surround us on the job – subordinates, peers, bosses, the public, customers, vendors, partners, competitors, the media, and so on. In my view, managing the sheer complexity and extent of relationships is staggering.
But, for this article, let’s simplify and just stick with the basics for a minute.
If thermodynamics is “concerned with the relations between heat and mechanical energy (work), and the conversion of one into the other,” why can’t we take the liberty of evaluating leadership in a similarly scientific language by explaining the dynamics between a group’s output (work) as it is related to the quality of the leadership which guides it?
It’s quite obvious people vary in their response(s) to their leader(s) – their work either advances, or declines.
Some leaders accomplish great things. Others, much less so. (Occasionally, a leader is entirely ignored, and his/her complete absence has absolutely no impact on the organization’s output at all.) Those leaders who prove to be most effective are fundamentally sound in three relational areas: invitation, encouragement, and challenge.
‘Invitation’ is making sure everyone feels welcome to join in. Believe it or not, too many of us like to keep our distance from others, and it’s communicated through the signals we send out through our body language, tone of voice, (lack of) interest in others, ego, etc. We can be self-defeating. The leaders who are most successful attract others, they don’t push them away. They get people on their side and behind their agenda, because they’re expert in invitational words and behaviors. It becomes their very nature to draw people in.
‘Encouragement’ is the practice of helping others succeed. It’s not just wishing for their success, or throwing a few words their way, but it’s an active effort to fully support them, see them grow, celebrate their wins and overcome their losses.
‘Challenge’ is a relational skill that assures no one becomes stagnant, too comfortable, or just plain lazy. That’s not good for any of us. Human beings are built for movement. Just as our reach should exceed our grasp, leaders need to clearly show us how to press-on, get ahead, and stay interested-in and oriented-to the future. A challenge, well presented, is a real gift to the human spirit.
An interesting test would be to find out how we measure up in these three areas.
Invitation. Encouragement. Challenge. Those three relational skills expertly expressed will bring renewed commitment, effort, and energy to work – lifting your level of leadership and delivering the results you desire. They produce dedicated workers. And, they’re fundamental factors, no matter what occupation you hold.
Leadership, in reality, is the conversion of relationships into energy.
– Jerry Strom
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*‘The High Points Survey: What Managers Most Want to Know about Leadership,’ copyright 2012, by Jerry Strom & Company, Inc. Download the White Paper at: http://www.jerrystrom.com/js_high-points.html