Making the People Connection

The greatest of all leaders understand that methods, tools, technologies, protocols, and systems do not achieve results. People do. Therefore, it is people not processes, with whom organizational leaders must form a long-lasting, positive, emotional connection. This connection is actually a physical connection in people’s brains and is what ultimately determines the success or failure of the leader specifically and the organization as a whole.

Research has proven that people do not connect and engage in their work at high levels of performance unless they are first connected and engaged with their leader/manager. This connection happens at a molecular level – it is the synergistic reaction of your energy field with that of your employee – how does your presence make them feel (and think)? Positive energy attracts and lights up the prefrontal cortex of our brains. – the upper brain. So here is a question to ponder: Do the brains of your people light up in the high performance areas when you walk into the room or, when you walk out?

So it is that people connect to their leaders before they connect to the organization’s mission, vision, and values. Staff members who feel a positive connection with their leader/manager are typically engaged, cooperative, collaborative, participative, accountable, and passionate about their work, and supportive of change. They are motivated to behave according to established expectations and to perform to the best of their knowledge, skill and ability. In this environment ‘performance behaviour’ is the norm and an organization with such a workforce can dominate any market or industry with consistent, high-quality clinical, financial and operational outcomes.

The principle of connection validates and puts into practice the concepts of self-awareness and collaboration. Self-awareness enables leaders to initiate connections with their team members, while trust and accountability – the imperative of collaboration – allow leaders to sustain these connections. In this way, connection is a strategy that influential leaders use to demonstrate they care for and understand the needs of their people. A deep connection between the leader and team members raises everyone’s level of energy, engagement, motivation and performance behaviour. Neurons (brain cells) that fire together, wire together, as the neuroscience data demonstrates. Hence, there is a neurochemical performance cocktail leaders can create in the brains of their people that drives performance based on the connection that leaders create with their team members.

The skill of Positive Presence is an innovative thought model that makes the connection of workplace behaviour to human energy – it makes the connection between the tangible and the intangible. Learning the Skill of Positive Presence and the Positive Presence Behaviour Competencies is a systematic, programmatic methodology that equips leaders and their staff with the knowledge and understanding necessary for developing and sustaining positive, effective thought and behaviour habits.