People Leadership | No. 2

Point of Stability

Leaders deal with a variety of people's tasks in an organization. One of the most important although not immediately evident, is their role in providing a place for everyone under their leadership to be affirmed and feel appreciated.

No matter how hectic a day is, a leader should be visible as the one who anyone could reach to seek understanding. Everyone has the need to be validated and to be heard, and a leader's role is to be a sounding board.

It is easy when someone speaks to us, to be carried away from our own thoughts, or to start thinking about how to reply. It is easy not to listen and to seek first our own affirmation to our thoughts. No matter how tempting, a leader is there to provide space for others. Such an approach might not seem to fit all people's leadership styles, however, the need for affirmation is so basic to people that goes beyond such categorizations.

The Need to be Understood

You might have noticed that whenever you have tried to explain yourself, it could be anything that required you to share your ideas or work with another colleague, and the other side has affirmed your thoughts, with few words like “fully agree” or “you are in mind”, how pleasant that sounds. The pleasant feeling is something that results from our inherent need to seek confirmation and approval. The need to feel appreciated, and to relate to the community - or in this case the work environment - that we should belong. This, in returning fills us with more meaning and purpose, a feeling of belonging, and that we are accepted.

On the other hand, if there is difficulty in understanding, we would try our best to make our point clear, explain further what do we mean, and try to seek understanding. In the process of doing so we will observe that we lose the connection with our counterpart, also emotions such as feeling angry or isolated could emerge.

Similar to you, the people you are leading have the same need, the only difference mainly being that an affirmation by you being the leader has a larger gravity on the above thus it is so important as a leader that you try your best to understand your people and provide this validation whenever they reach to you. Although this might not be written in any formal job description, you should see yourself as being accountable for this. In return, if your people feel validated, they will be empowered and will be able to accomplish things that otherwise might not be able to do so.