Genuine Dialogue Is Not a Process—It Is A Behavior

A leader’s behavior, meaning their ability to engage in Genuine Dialogue, is always witnessed by subordinates. Here I mean the family and those around the kitchen table, at work, at school, and relationships in general. So, it is always the leader, whether a parent or any person in that role, who, while talking, doing their job, or just being, can succeed in conveying an open, receptive and nurturing nature. Naturally, the best judges of whether this is so or not are those at its immediate effect.


A significant problem at the root of every leadership failure is that most who lead only want subordinates to follow them. In other words, from that leader’s perspective, they only desire pawns who will do their bidding instead of allowing followers to assert their leadership. So, when this type of leader “leads,” the “truth” they get back is not exactly what they need or want. Typically, that type of leader blames others instead of accepting responsibility for their own failings.


So, I emphasize that the core of relationship problems between leaders and followers is the leader’s behavior, not the relationship. This failure is not a shared responsibility. How can it be when all the power resides in the hands of the leader?


There is no question that it takes a special person who, when and if they become a leader, will fill that role with an open example of courage, honesty, and an authentic desire to help their followers grow so that they can realize their own potentials.

I lead to improve—You, if you choose to be more—We help each other
Sy

Author: Sy Ogulnick

Sy Ogulnick received a BA from UCLA, Teacher’s Credential from Los Angeles Board of Education and completed phase I (Master’s portion) in a Doctor of Behavioral Science program at California Coast University. Sy leased and operated a summer day camp in LA. He and his wife then purchased virgin wilderness land in Northern CA, where they built and operated a coed summer camp. They moved to Las Vegas, NV, and purchased, built and operated a community children’s program for families staying in a major resort casino in Las Vegas. They have created programs for children nationwide that employed many people and in the process developed successful training programs for personnel. This led Sy to lecture on how to train staff and the creating of community within the workplace. Sy was then invited to speak at professional conferences on how best to hire and train employees, which led to his becoming a consultant in the art of improving relationships in a work environment and eventually to his epiphany that “Leaders are the primary problem and the answer to the personnel issues that arise in the workplace.” Sy has written numerous papers on the subject of interpersonal relationships, leadership and power. He has lectured throughout the United States, has been interviewed by the media and has appeared on many radio and TV talk shows

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