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Staying in Touch

"The factors involved in staying in touch are not easy to pin down, but one thing they do point out is that leaders not only have to be out in front of the people, but they also have to stay in touch with the people.  If leaders get too far out in front, the people will lose touch with them, and even more important, they will lose touch with the people.  Leaders, in other words have to reach out to worthwhile objectives, but they must always hold those goals in one hand and their people in the other hand so that they can evaluate the likely compatibility or resonance between them.

The leaders who do it best are those who have developed an ongoing flow of both formal and informal two-way communication with their people.  They are always talking with their people, and they are always listening to their people.  We say that they 'have an ear to the ground.' In this way, they are constantly building up in their minds a bank of impressions, opinions, ideas, thoughts, feelings and perceptions that gives them an intuitive but accurate sense of where their people are and what will or will not stir them into action and commitment (Marshall, 2003, p. 26)."

How well do you stay in touch?

Reference:  Marshall, T. (2003).  Understanding leadership: fresh perspectives on the essentials of new testament leadership.  Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House Company.

Understanding Leadership is available on loan from the Ohio State University Leadership Center.  To borrow this resource or any other resource please go to the resource search page http://140.254.85.212/winnebago/search/search.asp?lib

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Created: 2008-04-03, Updated: 2009-01-09