Relevant With Needs

Every organization has needs. Every person has needs. It takes a great leader to understand which needs are most important and when these needs are most important. Leaders need to recognize needs and develop solutions to meet them. The third thing that leaders need to be relevant with is the needs going on in their organization.

It is one thing for leaders to be able to know their followers on a personal, friendship level. But leaders also need to be able to identify needs among their followers. In order to do this, they need to be relevant with the lives of their followers on a daily basis. They need to be “inside the circle” instead of outside of it. Leaders need to understand what is truly happening in the daily life of their followers and not just the things on the surface. Followers might be needing increased responsibility to further their career, or a break from the stress at work, or an opportunity to do something different. They might need some advice with a certain project. They might need feedback on a new idea. They might need someone to manage a conflict in the office. Leaders need to be relevant enough with their followers to recognize their needs.

Leaders also need to be relevant with the life of their organization. They should not just leave everything to their followers, but they themselves should be an active part of the daily doings of the organization. Leaders should be able to recognize the biggest needs of the organization. They need to know what is working and what is not working. They need to hear the heartbeat of the organization and be able to identify needs. Leaders must be close enough to the organization to be relevant with its needs.

In all and with due respect, leaders need to not be deistic. They cannot just start something and then let it run on their own accord. They cannot call themselves a leader but stand so far away that they cannot do anything about stuff. No. They need to get right into the lives of their employees and the life of the organization. They need to involve themselves. They need to be so close that they can identify and recognize needs. Leaders must be relevant enough with their followers and organization that they can recognize the needs going on in order to solve them.