The connected leader

The former treatise have I made,

O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began

to do and teach…. (emphasis mine) – Acts of Apostles 1:1

IF there is anything that is more important than the generic definition of leadership as the capacity to influence others to move in a particular direction or do things a certain way, it is the fact that the very basis of leadership is service to PEOPLE. The business of any business is to make, serve and keep customers. Products or services are merely vehicles of accomplishing that goal. True leadership operates by persuasion, not conviction. Convincing someone about a particular line of action or thought is motivated by a desire to project and ultimately make the other party toe our line of thought, even if he is not sure if it is a line he wants to toe. Persuasion on the other hand is a way of getting people to subscribe to a particular line of thought projected by the leader in a way that makes them own it. When persuaded, a follower will defend that position as if it was theirs.

To effectively do that, a leader must cultivate the habit of leading from the heart. He must see his followers as stakeholders in any venture he is working on with them. When a leader can connect with his followers from the heart, he does not need to bark orders at them. They can literally think his thoughts and can fill any performance gap in his absence with little or no problem. A leader who has to shout to get the followers to do anything is not likely to be one who has effectively connected with them at the heart level. Simply put, a connected leader is a people person. He is inspired by people’s wellbeing and the removal of whatever makes it difficult for them to function at their optimum level, whether in their private lives or at work.

Our culture does not have too many of such leaders. In an environment where leaders are perceived as lords of the Manor and many in positions of authority have no qualms lording it over everyone and making it appear like they (leaders) are lieutenants to God, there is a yawning leadership gap and a loud cry for leaders who truly can connect with the people and walk where they walk.

What sets the connected leader apart from the pack?

The first quality required to connect effectively is Compassion. A compassionate leader is one who can feel the pains of the people he is leading. Compassion is not synonymous with pity. A compassionate leader enters into the world of the people he is leading and walks where they walk, understands why they feel or behave in the peculiar way that they do and almost always seeks a solution to all their problems. As has been popularly said, nobody cares what you know until they know how much you care. This goes beyond merely feeling sorry about a follower’s experience. It’s about helping him to find a solution to the attendant problems. Connected leaders are Ordinary people who became enigmatic because they chose to embrace responsibility at the level that most other ordinary people would not. However, in his ordinariness, he relates with people without fear or favour and across divides without being pedestrian or partisan. His relationship with people is driven by the purpose he intends to achieve or by the corporate destination.

He may be structured or organized. This is because order is at the heart of progress. Great leaders are not comfortable with chaos but they are Not bogged down by the rhetoric or rigmarole of structures cast in stone. Nobody feels allegiance to a structure that cannot serve him. Connected leaders understand that structures are meant to serve people before people are expected to subscribe to structures. So, effective leaders prioritize relationship above rules.

Connected leaders are not bound to forms or traditions. They know that as people evolve, so does the society that they live in. Consequently, they encourage Novelty in their approach to things. Connected leaders recognize that no two people, even if they are identical twins, are exactly alike. Their openness to new ideas makes it possible for them to manage a diversity of talents and warehouse innovative ideas that translate to significant progress.

In the corporate environment, people with very high capacity for Emotional and Social Intelligence tend to move up faster on the corporate ladder than others who lack those qualities. This is because their capacity to Engage makes them go-to persons in the organization. People around them usually feel at ease with them and can easily confide in them. They have an uncanny ability to remember names and special days of their followers. They are comfortable attending the naming ceremony of a subordinate’s child as they are attending the wedding ceremony of a top Manager. This makes them natural leaders in any organization where they find themselves.

Connected leaders are excellent communicators. They have no problems articulating a vision or an idea. Because they adopt advocacy as their strategy for communicating with others, they speak from the heart and with a disarming sincerity that makes people listen to them. They speak to the lowest of their subordinates in a way that demonstrates appreciation of their self-worth and dignity. Honour is a prominent feature of their vocabulary.

Everyone, including the most untrustworthy person seeks someone to trust. An armed robber who steals money and takes it to the bank does so because he is looking for trust. Trustworthy people, more so in leadership, are in high demand but in short supply. Connected leaders rate high on the trust index. This is the basis of confidence in their leadership.

Driven by the desire to see others become great and be the best that they can be, Empowering their followers is one competence of the connected leader. Such a leader is never comfortable with seeing others fail or function at a level beneath their natural capacity. They are comfortable relating with an audience of one as they are with a crowd. Consequently, they are quick to spot potentials in their followers and in helping them to develop and deploy such potentials. When they delegate responsibility, they empower the delegate with the authority for execution.

Aside from his commitment to people, the fuel of the connected leader’s success is nothing but his Dedication to an overarching purpose that goes beyond himself. He is committed to seeing people as they can be rather than as they have been or currently are. Connected leaders are avowed believers in possibilities wrapped up in people even when such people have little or no faith in themselves.

Connection is the soul of empathy. Leaders with stone-cold emotions towards their followers are detached and disconnected from their followers. Such leaders only care about their personal agenda and would stop at nothing to merely use other people to achieve their selfish aims. They are brutish dictators whose only claim to significance is their style of oppression.

Society only progresses significantly when leaders genuinely care about the people that they are called to lead.

May God give us leaders who walk where we walk and who can take us to where we ought to go.

Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!

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