Putting people and relationships first
Leading through whole systems change to tackle complex and systemic issues and inequalities calls for a more people-centred approach. It requires a focus on developing partnerships, collaborative relationships and building trust with partners and communities.
Being open to understanding those around them and their needs helps leaders co-design effective solutions that can be implemented together.
Building relationships can take time and be unpredictable. It’s important to be empathetic, listen and work at the speed of trust to establish solid foundations.
Relational leadership doesn’t remove goals or targets; it designs them collaboratively based on a full understanding of the needs and motivations of those they involve.
Relational leadership isn’t transactional. It can feel time-consuming and slow decision making down, so it’s important for leaders to be comfortable with the pace and remain positive and confident that the end result will be more effective.
Reflective questions
- Think of a time where you’ve forged a partnership purely on short-term targets? How would a relational approach, and taking more time to build understanding and trust, have changed your progress?
- Think of an instance where you’ve taken time to forge a positive two-way partnership, what benefits did it bring? What challenges did you encounter? What did you learn from it?
- How can you demonstrate that you’re building a shared understanding of the goals you want to achieve? How have you involved others in doing this and what’s been different because you did?
Stay up-to-date
You can find out exactly how we'll look after your personal data, but rest assured we’ll only use it to make sure you receive our newsletter, to understand how you interact with our newsletter, and to provide administrative information about our newsletter.