On this exciting episode of Leaderview, we are going to be discussing Relational Leader. A relational leader literally, is one who has relationship with others. He or she is someone that relates with other people, and we know that as a leader and as individuals, there is such a thing as relating with other people. You cannot be a leader and you are just doing things by yourself. You have to relate with others, you have to speak with people, you have to sell your vision. In whatever capacity that you are leading, you have to relate with people, it could be your employees, your team members, or your customers, it could be suppliers, whoever it is, you just have to relate as a leader with someone or with people. And that is why we are considering today The Relational Leader: How to Be an Effective Through Good Relationship.

 

We are going to be considering a Scripture in Matthew 20:25-28. It says: “But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles Lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them.  Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant.” Here Jesus was telling them that the way the gentiles go about their leadership is through ‘lording’, they are tyrants. They oppress the people that they work with and have around them. But Jesus is saying here it shall not be so among you. And this means for us as believers that we cannot lead the people the way the unbelievers or gentiles do it.

 

Unfortunately, what we have around us now is that leaders relate with their team members or employees as though they are unbelievers, not with understanding. But the Bible is saying here that it shall not be so among you. Don’t lord leadership over people. And this is why we can’t take this relational aspect of leadership with levity. The reason is because people want to be loved and wants safe space for themselves wherever they are working per time. But for us as leaders, it is time to lead the way Jesus led. So, we see here that leadership involves people because when the Scriptures says here that we are serving others, it means there are people involved in this thing. So, leadership involves people. Jesus said here that whoever desires to be great will have to serve others.

 

It feels as though this is the secret to every form of greatness because you just have to be ready to keep serving others. When you serve others, the ladder of greatness keeps going up for you. If you want to be a leader that does it as Jesus did it while He was on the earth, it is important that we serve others and by doing this, it means putting people ahead of you. So, leadership in this our world today requires a subtler approach because it involves people. So, we have to be very careful at the way with which we relate with others because it has to do with what motivates people, what their interest is, how engaged they become and this is very important because it is something that has to do with you getting interested in the interests of your followers as a leader.

 

So, you relate with people on all areas of life as a leader and this relationship is crucial to businesses, to all forms of organization. It is important in every area of our life and work places. It is important to know how people are feeling because sometimes, people think when you talk about relationship, you are an unserious person. But it is important we talk about relationship because it is an important part of our makeup as people and individuals. One other thing we must understand as a relational leader is that you think about relationship as an end, and not as a means. What does this mean? It means as a leader, you are not looking at how you are using your team members, your followers, you are simply looking at them as an end; meaning you are looking at how you can improve them, how you can help them, how you can make them a better person. It is very important that we understand this as leaders.

 

In summary; this is what I have been trying to communicate to us:

 

Leadership involves People: Leadership requires a subtler view of the world because it involves people, what motivates them, what their interests are and how engaged they become, this is how a leader interested in serving thinks. It means very importantly, that you relate with people of all areas of life. Relationships are crucial to business and every organization.

 

As a leader, think of Relationship as an end not a means: Looking more at what you are giving to others and less of what you are receiving. We have to look beyond the attitude of using others to actually driving them to impact and purpose, giving. Invest in the relationships you have around you. Your relationship with your team members shouldn’t be just about how they will help you achieve your own purpose, and making calculations but invest in them as well. It shouldn’t be just about how you will drive them to working for you, how do you intend to serve them to and impact their lives. People gravitate more to value. And it is easy for people to know when they are being used, no one wants to have that feeling around them.

 

The Effect of Relationship in a working environment: Good relationship even creates efficiency, trust and motivation. No one wants to feel as though you will use their weakness against them, and that is why you have many people get into a defensive mode when being corrected. Everyone wants a safe space, where they are accepted and received just the way they are. If they are excited, they will definitely do their work excitedly as well. Making the working environment a more conducive one. But if you refuse to maintain good relationship with your team, it gets into a flow of reduced work, diminished morale, and then eventual loss of contracts. A mismanaged relational environment impacts on morale, motivation and productivity.

 

The way to profit is relational: The route to profit is understood to be relational. Even when we look at advertising, we will see that it’s all relational content. It is creating an association between the product and the context with which it is consumed. Between the producer and end consumer lies a network of relationships, that impacts the business success. It is said that the key to strategic success is mainly building relationships with customers, suppliers and employees that are exceptionally hard for competitors to duplicate. Treat your employees as humans and treat people as you want to be treated, many people will not want to be treated the way they treat others. Relationship is that glue that binds individuals and teams together in an enterprise. For example, to ask how successfully a company markets a product is to ask about the relationships forged between the sales person and the client.

 

The Effect of a Man’s Relationship to His Life and Work Performance

 

We will discover that the quality of a man’s relationship impacts on the quality of their life and this is why when there are disagreements with a boss or a customer, or probably you had a great evening with your friend, it affects your confidence, concentration and your work performance, in whatever way. From a personal and business point of view, there’s a big advantage to getting relationships right. Money cannot even substitute relational well-being because a well-rounded life does not consist of unlimited hours in the office and a fat salary. We are happiest when we know we are loved. Growing in the midst of supportive and positive relationships, we develop self esteem. Without those relationships, we lose our sense of personal security and well-being and this hits our work. If relationship go wrong, money can’t do much to help. You can’t even make money without effective relationships because markets are group of people working together.

 

I believe you have learnt something!

Thanks for the gift of your time, I am Olabisi Obayomi!

Feel free to share your thoughts or testimony in the comment box below. I promise to respond to them as soon as possible!