Good leaders reach out to connect with their followers

A recent study identified what happens at a biological level when leaders connect with their followers.

Darren Fleming

A recent study from the National Academy of Sciences identified what happens at a biological level when leaders connect with their followers. Using brain-imaging technology, researchers identified levels of neural synchrony between leaders and followers. Neural synchrony is the aligning of thought patterns between two people — an essential element in any leader-follower relationship.

The results showed that when leaders initiated the connection (conversation) with their followers the level of neural synchrony was stronger than when followers initiated connection with their leaders. Further, the leader-initiated connection was much strong than any follower-follower connection.

In the same study, observers were asked to identify who they thought was the leader of the group. Using their own criteria, nine out of 11 judges (81 per cent) were able to identify who had the greater neural synchrony between people in the group, thus identifying the leader.

This is supported by a Harvard Business Review case study into the effects of being mentally present in meetings. In this study they followed a manager in a pharmaceutical company and measured his engagement scores with his direct reports. After gaining a baseline of time spent with staff and outcomes achieved, the researchers implemented a mindfulness program so he was more present in meetings. After a few months his reports found him more enjoyable to work with, more engaging and more inspiring. On top of this, he was spending 21 per cent less time managing his staff.

Humans are social creatures. We live in tribes and come together frequently. Australia’s Aborigines have been coming together for their corroborees for tens of thousands of years. Every religion comes together for worship as a major part of its practice. In our daily lives we come together for sport and cultural as well as family and work events. It’s our ability to connect with others in these gatherings that determines who is the leader and who has influence.

Increasing your ability to connect with people is a matter of letting people in. Asking questions, being present and not making assumptions. It can be summed up with the mantra: “Don’t turn your back, don’t cover your ears and don’t close your heart.”

Put the phone and iPad away in meetings. Stop typing when someone is speaking to you. Despite our beliefs to the contrary, research reported in Workplace Psychology shows we are not very good at multi-tasking. Our brain can only do one thing at a time.

When you’re at networking events or social functions at work, if you see someone on their own invite them to join your group. This will build a connection with them.

In this age of social media we are used to telling the world about what we think. YouTube, Twitter and Facebook encourage this. Those in generation Y and younger have never known a time when you could not do this. They now expect to have the same right at work — to share their ideas and opinions and be heard. And they should be able to. Your challenge as a leader is to ensure they do it at the right time and that they understand that they don’t have the last say.

Don’t close your heart by giving people the initial benefit of the doubt. Even the most caring of managers cannot know every problem their staff are carrying around outside of the office. These issues will always affect our ability to perform at work.

When issues arise, ask questions before reaching conclusions. Probe a little deeper to find out what is going on behind the scenes before making assumptions about why staff or customers acted the way that you did not like.

Darren Fleming is the author of Don’t be a D!ck — Creating Connections that Make Influence Happen.