The next level of leadership development

This time we’re looking at the second level in the seven levels of leadership consciousness, which is all about communication and relationships.

Level 2: Relationship

At this level, effective leaders are great communicators, handling difficult situations easily and setting great store on good working relationships. They may have an open door policy and spend a lot of time with their staff, expecting loyalty and obedience in return. They’ll happily give praise and don’t flinch from delivering bad news.

They are also actively involved with customers, giving priority to customer satisfaction.

Level 2 leaders want to be liked. If they think they’re not, they will avoid conflict and become manipulative to get what they want. They will even blame others when things go wrong.

They may operate as paternalists, finding it difficult to trust people outside the ‘family’. This can severely limit the pool of talent available to an organisation and can stifle ideas and innovation. Paternalism is often a feature of family-run businesses.

The ‘family factor’ is a tricky one to deal with, especially if you’re not part of the family. But there are examples of these businesses that have successfully transcended this level. Do you work for a family run business? Let us know your views.