Dimensions of Authentic Leaders: Fourth, Establishing Enduring ...

As Krishnamurti says, ?Relationship is the mirror in which we see ourselves as we are.?

The capacity to develop close and enduring relationships is one mark of a leader. Unfortunately, many leaders of major companies believe their job is to create the strategy, organization structure, and organizational processes. Then they just delegate the work to be done, remaining aloof from the people doing the work.

The detached style of leadership will not be successful in the twenty-first century. Today?s employees demand more personal relationships with their leaders before they will give themselves fully to their jobs. They insist on having access to their leaders, knowing that it is in the openness and the depth of the relationship with the leader that trust and commitment are built. Bill Gates, Michael Dell, and Jack Welch are so successful because they connect directly with their employees and realize from them a deeper commitment to their work and greater loyalty to the company. Welch, in particular, is an interesting case because he was so challenging and hard on people. Yet it was those very challenges that let people know that he was interested in their success and concerned about their careers.

In Eyewitness to Power, David Gergen writes, ?At the heart of leadership is the leader?s relationship with followers. People will entrust their hopes and dreams to another person only if they think the other is a reliable vessel.? Authentic leaders establish trusting relationships with people throughout the organization as well as in their personal lives. The rewards of these relationships, both tangible and intangible, are long lasting.

I always tried to establish close relationships with my colleagues, looking to them as a closely knit team whose collective knowledge and wisdom about the business vastly exceeds my own. Many corporate leaders fear these kinds of relationships. As another CEO said to me, ?Bill, I don?t want to get too close to my subordinates because someday I may have to terminate them.? Actually, the real reason goes much deeper than that. Many leaders?men in particular?fear having their weaknesses and vulnerabilities exposed. So they create distance from employees and a sense of aloofness. Instead of being authentic, they are creating a persona for themselves.

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Source: Authentic Leadership : Rediscovering The Secrets To Creating Lasting Value. Bill George

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Post Published: 14 May 2011
Author: admin
Found in section: People and Personal

Tags: bill gates, close relationships, collective knowledge, corporate leaders, david gergen, eyewitness to power, followers, Hopes And Dreams, knowledge and wisdom, loyalty, michael dell, openness, organization structure, organizational processes, personal lives, personal relationships, style of leadership, subordinates, trusting relationships, twenty first century

Source: http://informazone.co.cc/dimensions-of-authentic-leaders-fourth-establishing-enduring-relationships/

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