Over the years I\u2019ve 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\u2019t ever recall hearing one quite like this, \u201cLeadership is the conversion of relationships into energy.\u201d Let me explain \u2026<\/p>\n
The \u2018High Points of Leadership Survey\u2019* 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 \u2018relationships.\u2019 Managers want to know how to \u201cmaintain, foster, develop, build, and restore\u201d the relationships they experience at work.<\/p>\n
Even with this topic so high on the list, I\u2019m wondering if the majority of us truly appreciate the extent to which our work is impacted by them.<\/p>\n
Think about all those who surround us on the job \u2013 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.<\/p>\n
But, for this article, let\u2019s simplify and just stick with the basics for a minute.<\/p>\n
If thermodynamics is \u201cconcerned with the relations between heat and mechanical energy (work), and the conversion of one into the other,\u201d why can\u2019t we take the liberty of evaluating leadership in a similarly scientific language by explaining the dynamics between a group\u2019s output (work) as it is related to the quality of the leadership which guides it?<\/p>\n
It\u2019s quite obvious people vary in their response(s) to their leader(s) \u2013 their work either advances, or declines.<\/p>\n
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\u2019s output at all.) Those leaders who prove to be most effective are fundamentally sound in three relational areas: invitation, encouragement, and challenge.<\/p>\n
\u2018Invitation\u2019 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\u2019s 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\u2019t push them away. They get people on their side and behind their agenda, because they\u2019re expert in invitational words and behaviors. It becomes their very nature to draw people in.<\/p>\n
\u2018Encouragement\u2019 is the practice of helping others succeed. It\u2019s not just wishing for their success, or throwing a few words their way, but it\u2019s an active effort to fully support them, see them grow, celebrate their wins and overcome their losses.<\/p>\n
\u2018Challenge\u2019 is a relational skill that assures no one becomes stagnant, too comfortable, or just plain lazy. That\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n
An interesting test would be to find out how we measure up in these three areas.<\/p>\n
Invitation. Encouragement. Challenge. Those three relational skills expertly expressed will bring renewed commitment, effort, and energy to work \u2013 lifting your level of leadership and delivering the results you desire. They produce dedicated workers. And, they\u2019re fundamental factors, no matter what occupation you hold.<\/p>\n
Leadership, in reality, is the conversion of relationships into energy.<\/p>\n
\u2013 Jerry Strom<\/p>\n
For more information about our leadership development programs, please visit www.JerryStrom.com. New subscribers receive notice of new articles automatically (see the \u2018Register\u2019 link in the right hand column).<\/p>\n
*\u2018The High Points Survey: What Managers Most Want to Know about Leadership,\u2019 copyright 2012, by Jerry Strom & Company, Inc. Download the White Paper at: http:\/\/www.jerrystrom.com\/js_high-points.html<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Over the years I\u2019ve 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\u2019t ever recall hearing one quite like this, \u201cLeadership is the … Continue reading