Engage | Build Big Relationships

How strongly has this been a conscious part of your leading to date? How could you make great strides in this area?

One evening I had a long, exploratory talk with a wise friend who told me that "power in organisations is the capacity generated by relationships". It is a real energy that can only come into existence through relationships. Ever since that conversation, I have changed what I pay attention to in an organisation. Now I look carefully at how a workplace organises its relationships; not its tasks, functions, and hierarchies, but the patterns of relationship and the capacities available to form them. Margaret J. Wheatley

Leadership is a relationship. It's a relationship between those who aspire to lead and those who choose to follow. Sometimes, the relationship is one to one. Sometimes, it's one to many. Regardless of the number, leaders must master the dynamics of this relationship. Jim Kouzes

In the old stable world, a manager gained power and influence through formal position and the number of people and tangible resources controlled. In the out-of-kilter world, influence is based on building relationships with other people and by seeing and managing relationships among key elements in the organization. Lengel and Daft

Terry Pearce

Goleman, Boyatzis, McKee

John Childress

Leading is a personal pursuit that by definition involves other people. The primary distinction between a leader and someone who merely conceives and expresses good ideas or examples, is the ability to relate to others. And although the logical mind is a great tool for gaining agreement, it is not sufficient to build relationship.
Terry Pearce Close

Increasingly, the best of breed lead not by virtue of power alone, but by excelling in the art of relationship, the singular expertise that the changing business climate renders indispensable. Leadership excellence is being redefined in interpersonal terms as companies strip out layers of managers, as corporations merge across national boundaries, and as customers and suppliers redefine the web of connection.
Goleman, Boyatzis and McKee Close

Extraordinary results are the product of extraordinary relationships. If we must accomplish something out of the ordinary, it can be done quickly and easily with extraordinary relationships among the people involved. In the past, knowledge and know-how were much more important than relationships. They were the currency of the last 25 years.

Now we have to add another denomination: we must develop the ability to form relationships in such a way that people get a whole lot more done a whole lot quicker. Trusting, supportive, and energising relationships are the new currency.

The future role of the CEO and executive team members is to model and foster open, supportive relationships. This is what releases spirit, energy and talent. This is what distributes the leadership; first among the top people, then through the organisation.
John Childress Close