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You have covered all your bases in that you have a sound business plan, comply with the requisite protocol for good business practice, have an ‘inside’ track to AI, and support your systems with the latest technology, yet you cannot get the traction you feel you deserve.

Everywhere one looks, organizations are being stretched to the extreme, not only to survive but also to remain competitive, relevant, and profitable.

So where do thriving organizations look for a sustainable competitive advantage?

They look to their people and commit to working with human nature. Human nature is one of the last vast reserves of untapped potential.

Think of it this way – that everything accomplished by a leader will be as a result of their relationships with people, although you may need to mine for it.

Our road to a successful life is lined by people; how we deal with those people will determine whether or not we get there. To get the best from people give the best to them.

Let me illustrate the crucial role of leadership in tapping this latent value.

Leaders are integrators and activators who work on a strategy, together with people, as they strive to accomplish their goals. In essence, what they do is integrate relationships with results as all achievement is through a connection with others. Simple enough. However, problems arise when they do one at the expense of the other, or without the required ‘weighting’ in order to maintain integrity. For example, a predominant ‘results’ focus will leave people feeling ‘used’ and so expect a variety of push-backs.

Most leaders are comfortable in managing results performances with their people, but not the behavioural ones. Therein lies the key?

I am the author of Leading Self and Others (how to make a difference where you are with what you’ve got) and Teaming with ideas (life lessons in teams- from business, sport and parkrun). You can contact me here.