Why leadership is about relationships

Leaders with strong, trusting and authentic relationships with their teams know that investing time in building these bonds makes them more effective overall. As the second edition of our best-selling book hits shelves, we ask – how can talking make workplace relationships better?

When employees have high levels of engagement this has a significant, measurable and transformational impact on organisational performance. Research shows that it is the quality of the relationship people feel they have with their immediate leader or manager that is the primary driver of these feelings of engagement.

Why leadership is about relationships

So, relationships really matter. They are not an optional take it or leave it factor. They are a fundamental enabler of you and your organisation’s ability to attract, keep and get the very best out of your people. Effective leaders know that leadership IS relationship, and leaders and managers with poor or toxic relationships with their teams will see performance suffer.

In the second edition of 5 Conversations – How to transform trust, engagement and performance at work, we explore the five key conversations every leader should be having with their teams to make their relationships more effective.

What are the 5 Conversations?

The Oxford Group has identified five key conversations you can have that transform trust and develop more effective workplace relationships which we explore in both the programme and the book.

They are:

1. Establishing a trusting relationship – a conversation with a team member to share a deep, mutual understanding of your respective drivers, preferences, motivators and demotivators for high performance at work, and to understand what makes each other tick
2. Agreeing mutual expectations – a conversation about not only what you are both trying to achieve at work, but also why, and the expectations you can have to support each other in achieving these outcomes
3. Showing genuine appreciation – a conversation to help a team member focus on where they are being successful, to jointly understand the reasons for their success, to say how much you appreciate their contribution and find further ways in which they can deploy their skills and talents to benefit both themselves and the organisation
4. Challenging unhelpful behaviour – a conversation to agree a new and more effective set of behaviours where what a team member or colleague is saying or doing is getting in the way of team performance
5. Building for the future – a conversation to explore the future career aspirations of a team member and give you the best possible chance of creating conditions that will enable them to build that future career within your organisation rather than elsewhere

Want to find out more about 5 Conversations?

The second edition of our Amazon best seller 5 Conversations – How to transform trust, engagement and performance at work has just been published. New features include customer success stories, the impact of psychological safety, the link with emotional intelligence, latest neuroscience research and engagement data and how to apply 5 Conversations to customers.