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What is so simple with thread can be difficult in a leadership situation. The leader has to relate with his or her followers in a way that encourages the intertwining of ideas, commitments, and values.
In their book Primal Leadership, authors Goleman, Boyatzis, and McKee point to a study of 19 insurance companies, which found that the climate created by the CEOs among their direct reports predicted business performance for the entire organization. In 75% of the companies, climate alone accurately sorted companies into high versus low profits and growth. Additionally, 50-70% of how employees perceive their organization climate can be traced to the actions of one person: the leader. More than anyone else, the leader creates the conditions that directly determine the people’s ability to work well.
I’ve always appreciated the advice to “go beyond the Golden Rule.” The Platinum Rule says to “treat others the way they want to be treated.” The only way to do that effectively as a leader is to get to know other people. If I treat them the way I want to be treated, I will only optimize the engagement of those like me. If I want a diverse team, I must get to the Platinum Rule!
Got Mentors?
Mentoring is an essential leadership function. In the New Testament, Barnabas is a hero. His real name was Joseph, but he was known more by his actions, so people called him Barnabas, which means “son of encouragement” (Acts 4:36). Mentoring was a way of life for Barnabas.
First, immediately after Saul (who became Paul) was persecuting the church, no one in the Christian community wanted to get close to him. So, Barnabas sponsored Paul at a time when everyone else suspected and rejected him. Paul was only introduced to the church because “Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles” (Acts 9:27).
Later, Barnabas moved to Antioch, where he “encouraged them to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts” (Acts 11:23). As a result of his witness, many believed. And when the work became too great for one man, Barnabas brought Paul back to Antioch.
Finally, after John Mark left the Paul & Barnabas team on their first journey, he later wanted to return to the team for their second journey. Paul didn’t want him, so Barnabas faced a decision: go with the highly effective rising star or help another young champion whom others had written off. Barnabas went with John Mark—and Barnabas’ legacy was marked by a refusal to abandon good people who needed sponsorship, encouragement, and development. The results? At the end of his life, Paul requested that Mark come to him in Rome “because he is helpful to me in my ministry” (2 Timothy 4:11).
Paul played it forward many times over in the New Testament. One example is found in the book of Philemon with the Paul-Onesimus-Philemon set of relationships. Paul led Philemon’s runaway slave, Onesimus, to accept Jesus Christ as his personal Savior. Onesimus was now a Christian. However, ethically and legally, he was bound to return to his master Philemon.
That’s when Paul wrote the letter to Philemon, who was also a Christian. Paul urged Philemon to treat him “no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother” (Philemon 16). We can all learn from Paul’s exhortation. Leaders are served well if they move beyond a formal, positional relationship with their followers. Leaders must bear in mind they are leading people. Followers follow more willingly when they have good relationships with their leaders.
James MacGregor Burns argues in Transformational Leadership that “transcending leadership is a dynamic relationship in the sense that the leaders throw themselves into a relationship with followers who will feel ‘elevated’ by it and often become more active themselves, thereby creating new cadres of leaders.”
It doesn’t have to be “lonely at the top.” What are specific actions you can take today to sponsor, mentor, or encourage someone else? Getting Followers…Getting Mentors…Building Relationships…now, that’s Out of This World Leadership!