Relational Leadership Model: How to implement it in your organization
Knowing which leadership style is most effective for your team can make all the difference both in terms of employee morale and team productivity. Understanding what the relational leadership model is about and what it takes to implement it in a team, will let you decide if it can also help you and your organization to achieve its goals.
The central proposition of the relational leadership model, which is closely tied to the concept of collective leadership, is that it:
The method to achieve this is to get people to really work together to achieve both their joint business objectives and to effect positive change in the workplace. The goal for every relational leader, therefore, is to promote professional and social growth within their employees by putting an emphasis on relationships within the team.
In this article, we will introduce you to the four key principles that make up the relational leadership model, its benefits, and several helpful tips to implement it effectively and efficiently.
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One of the common mistakes that leaders could make is that they don’t understand the scope of their role’s responsibilities as a relationship leader. When this happens, it can hinder their ability to effectively lead their teams. This is often a symptom of monkey management, where leaders take on too many tasks themselves, leaving their teams feeling disempowered and overly dependent on the leader.
While, historically, the idea of leadership was to simply direct people what to do and to enforce such directions, today, most people would agree that there are many different styles in the field of leadership that any manager, employer, or community organizer can study. Corporate leadership, for instance, entails a greater sense of strategic vision and ability to inspire and manage large teams toward common objectives.
The relational leadership model emphasizes the analysis and management of relationships between team members, and thereby seeks to improve the process of people working. The goals are both to facilitate the achievement of a common goal, in business or otherwise, and the maintenance and continuous improvement of relationship within the team.
There are five main components that make up the relational leadership style: inclusion, empowerment, purposefulness, ethical behavior, and focus on team processes. Let’s look at them one by one:
Whether you are leading a group on a small collaborative project, running a larger organization, or trying to settle a workplace dispute within your team – if you are signed up to the relational leadership model, stick to the above principles and it will be made more effective than ever before. But don’t take our word for it; read on for more concrete advantages of this leadership style.
One of the key ingredients for implementing this model is effective communication, which in the realm of purpose-driven leadership, means not only articulating the organization’s mission but also inspiring others to align their individual purpose with that of the organization. In this matter, there are two ways of communicating:
Regarding the latter, let us briefly breakdown the two essential steps for two-way communication.
Firstly, the importance of optimal listening skills in the Relational Leadership model, is one of the key aspects that pays off on the long run. Be sure to set listening skills development as an organization’s goal. That means encouraging people to do the following:
Secondly, giving directions is essential. In this realm, two elements of communication have proven essential to build strong bonds – which is the foundation of the relational leadership model – and thereby achieve the team’s common goal:
To implement such model, we provide you the 7 steps you must take to do so which are:
- Express genuine care and concern. Asking questions about the impact of something and focusing intently on the answer is one of your best methods for developing quality relationships.
- Establish high standards. This calls upon the trait approach to leadership, as certain characteristics like determination and integrity are vital in setting and maintaining these standards. When you set expectations with those you work with and establish it as your criteria for success, then you are increasing the organization’s value.
- Listen to your team. Ask people what their opinion is and share your interest in the views of others. This will allow you to increase the opportunity of others to contribute to discussion and provide value.
- Share relevant information. Keep your team members updated on upcoming events and projects! Go out of your way to transparently share information that affects those around
- Establish clear responsibilities. As a leader, you are probably going to be looked like the standard for behaviour and interaction. If you want to have a culture where everyone works hard, show a strong work ethic.
- Share your expectations. It allows others the opportunity to thoroughly express their thoughts to you, which further enhances relationships. Checking for understanding ensures that you have a clear and complete picture of what is being communicated
- Give feedback. Giving your team valuable feedback will not only boost the overall performance and results individually, but it will also provide the perfect scenario for the leader to delegate as she will have a more skilled and professional team.
As you want to implement this model on its most optimal way, there is not a chance for missing the right software. That is why at this point of the article we will guide you on what this software tool should be like and how to choose it.
The Relational Leadership Model focuses on optimizing the processes by having good and clear communication (both listening and directing). To do so here are the 4 key aspects that your software must provide:
We understand that currently in the market you can choose from a wide variety of time trackers but, as you can imagine, choosing the right one must be aligned with the features describes above.
Finally, all these features combined with Task mining, steps up the game in the time tracking field. And that is where Allactivity appears and stands out as the best option for you!
To put it in a nutshell, by this point you should understand the importance of the Relational Leadership Model and moreover, you must have seen the huge benefits your company will gain by adopting it. Let us briefly summarize its benefits:
Following the latter benefit, change cannot be made without the proper software and that is why we bring you Allactivity, a game-changing tool that will provide you with all the necessary aspects in its most optimal version.
We know how to do Task Mining Right, and that is why we offer you the following:
Since many years, leadership has been an important phenomenon in organizational research. This prominent attention has been since leaders shape the behaviours of their followers.
Leadership has been defined differently according to the individual viewpoint of the researchers and the phenomenal facets that interest them the most. The rationale behind this study was to find out whether relational leadership has a positive effect on the employees’ innovative work behaviour. Administrative skills are not enough to utilize such an important resource alone rather leaders also need to be able to take initiative and cultivate and retain a positive functional relationship with his followers.
The Relational leadership is a model of leadership that suggests the effectiveness of a leader and relates their ability to develop positive relationships within an organization. It also relates to the process of people working together to achieve the greater good or accomplish a positive change in the workplace.
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