Leadership is centered on relationship.
Leaders would not be who they are if they did not have anyone to lead. They are aware they cannot do it alone. Investing in those who surround you is a crucial part of effective leadership and work life.
Creating culture within the work atmosphere involves commitment, trust, and some time to stop and listen. Do you know the names of your coworker’s kids? How was their last vacation? Hobbies? What project are they currently working on? Showing concern for others makes all the difference. Naturally, much more reciprocal relationships and work collaboration are a result of investing care and time in others.
As trust becomes a foundation of the relationship, confidence and competency grow. A switch begins to occur: leaders move from being in control to giving over control to others.
“Leaders accept and act on the paradox of power: you become more powerful when you give your own power away. Long before empowerment was written into popular vocabulary, exemplary leaders understood how important it was for their constituents to feel strong, capable, and efficacious. Constituents who feel weak, incompetent, and insignificant will consistently underperform; they want to flee the organization and are ripe for disenchantment.”
Strengthening others is the art of a true leader.
These ideas are taken from The Leadership Challenge written by Kouzes and Poszner, Copyright © 2012. Emerald Resource Group does not claim any rights to this work.