Effective Leaders Understand Purposes and People

May 23, 2018

Leadership, and particularly “covenant leadership,” involves more than just understanding the organizational purpose; it also involves understanding the people who have that purpose in common. In fact, without followers working cooperatively towards the common purpose, leaders can hardly expect significant success.

Understanding Individual and Organizational Purposes

As a leader that means I must understand the people I lead as well as the purposes we serve. If people are the key to success, then leaders must know, attend to and listen to followers with focused precision and sometimes make adjustments. Success is not just about the leader’s personal ability or knowledge of processes. Sure that’s important, but to lead, leaders must actually motivate others to follow them. The late leadership guru, James MacGregor Burns commented simply, “Without followers there can be no leadership.”

Accordingly, if leaders need to know and serve the people around them, then they also need to spend time talking and listening to them. Wharton School Professor Stewart Friedman wrote on becoming a better leader. He commented simply, “If I account for the interests of the whole person, not just the work person, I’m going to get more value from them.”

Serving Mutual Needs

This comes full cycle because leaders seek eventually to engage the “whole work person.” Yet for that to happen, it also means that leaders can’t simply pursue their own selfish purposes. The focus should also be on pursuing common and ethical purposes that promise to serve the mutual needs and goals of all organizational partners. Essentially, covenant leadership achieves all of that and more by respecting and listening to the needs and ideas of others and then making appropriate changes and empowering people to do their jobs. That’s what builds trust, binds people together and increases productivity. In nonprofit fundraising it is also what builds donor engagement and retention. This is not just soft rhetoric; there are hard numbers to support this logic.

Consider Cisco Corporation. Between 2012-2017, the company had a 15% increase in their workforce and yet by listening to worker needs and ideas they were able to reduce their real estate portfolio by 30%. They closed 241 buildings, saving $196 million in operating costs and gaining $288 million from building sales. They also took the emphasis off of individual work and put a new emphasis on collaboration and community. That helped them achieve a 17% increase in both employee engagement and workplace satisfaction. It also allowed them to grow in profitability from $6.5 billion in 2011 to a high of $10.7 billion in 2016.

Balancing Individual and Organizational Trust with Accountability

Stakeholder trust must be balanced by stakeholder accountability. Maximum productivity requires that professional and personal stakeholder purposes are served, but stakeholders must also serve the larger purposes of the organization. In fact, common purposes actually link stakeholders together in a common bond. That’s why, individual purposes must always tie directly to and find fulfillment in achieving the larger purpose of the organization.

If leader-follower relationships are productive, they will be formed by the convergence and subsequent fulfillment of individual and organizational purposes. Of course, this again does not divest the organization and its people of accountability. That simply wouldn’t be fair to folks who are engaged and working hard. Thus, the chief needs of stakeholders must also be both integrated with and balanced by the larger organizational purposes.

Finally, once leaders understand both the individual and organizational purposes, they must pursue those purposes in ways that everyone understands and embraces. That doesn’t just happen by chance; it takes deliberate and strategic planning on the part of leaders. Does it sound like a lot of work? Sure, but it’s also rewarding when everyone succeeds.

“I really support The Covenant Group’s strategic planning process because their approach encourages staff-based support with board buy-in, and I felt that was important given what we were trying to achieve. The outcome is an effective plan that builds consensus and provides a clear sense of direction.”
- Jennifer Scott, Director of Development - The Cabbage Patch Settlement House

“The Covenant Group is highly competent, very experienced and knowledgeable. They provided a broad perspective by equipping us with useful data…and best practices in the field. All in all, they are excellent.”
- Dan Jones, CEO - 21st Century Parks

“The campaign has truly been a miracle. People were committed from the beginning, but…even raising $650,000 seemed like a stretch. To nearly double that amount is incredible! When the plan they developed allows you to hit a goal like that, it builds such a sense of community. The momentum built by the campaign is spilling outside the walls of our church and benefiting others in the process.”
-Father John Hollowell - Annunciation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Catholic Church

“For those of us who don’t do this everyday, The Covenant Group instilled confidence in us. They helped us get through the fear and apprehension by providing us with a process, training and motivation. They taught us and helped us plan in a way that was for the better. We have built lasting relationships with donors and we will continue to steward these relationships long into the future.”
- Sue Finke, Director of Institutional Advancement - Covington Catholic High School

“No one anticipated we could raise this amount. Even the Archdiocese is surprised. The funds raised represent about 15 times our annual giving. But it’s not just the financial results. People stand around talking more than they did before the campaign. There is also a renewed and energized spirit among the parishioners. It’s the most exciting thing to happen in our parish in the last 100 years.”
- Gary Libs, Campaign Co-Chair - St. Mary of the Knobs Catholic Church

“The Covenant Group’s process involved a lot of people in our congregation doing small tasks … that built ownership. They took our vision and put it into a concrete plan. They helped us understand the importance of making our vision clear and laid out the steps to make the vision a reality. Their process built consensus and showed people how they could help. Their methods are based on a solid theological foundation that includes key documents, prayer support, and requisite training … all of which were invaluable.”
- Daniel Montgomery, Pastor - Sojourn Community Church

“Everything The Covenant Group did to help us…in the initial stages was helpful…the development of the case statement; our materials; the training of our Board members; strategies; all these steps laid the foundation for eventual success. They brought such a high level of professionalism, a wealth of experience and a strong track record of integrity and success… just being associated with The Covenant Group helped us.”
- Nancy Doctor, Development Director - Wellspring

“The structure The Covenant Group provided was excellent. It allowed our members to use their God-given talents to benefit the church community They helped us develop a plan and identify key leadership candidates to chair the effort, as well as engaging between 80 to 100 people to carry out the work of the campaign. It was truly a whole congregation effort and The Covenant Group helped facilitate that. They helped us reach our full potential as a congregation.”
- Ron Poisel, Pastor - Christ Lutheran Church

Effective Leaders Understand Purposes and People

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