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Thought leadership
Emanuel Gobillot

From one of the most towering figures on management and leadership to a new kid on the block. Emanuel Gobillot’s name is not one which is well know but he has attracted attention from a variety of sources in view of his book entitled The Connected Leader: Leader: creating agile organizations for people, performance and profit (2007: Kogan Page). Gobillot’s work brings to the fore the notion of connected leadership . His premise is simple and attractive and goes as follows. The work of the leader is to make their organisation agile in order to manage change. But agility requires all members of the organisation to be engaged not only with the core business and objectives but also to “the changes that they sense”. Such insights are however not always made use of in formal organisations as they are designed and structured to complete processes, tasks and routine.
Gobillot offers an alternative view to look at organisations. He suggests that one should look at the “real “ organisation which in effect is made up of “network of relationships” both within and external to the formal organisation. It is with this network that leaders can rely and leverage agility. The network not only enriches the organisation but it makes it robust and flexible. For Gobillot the role of leader and of leadership is that of channelling the “vitality of the real organisation towards the delivery of the formal organisation’s objectives. He call this ability “ connected leadership”.

Like many commentators on leadership these ideas are not empirically tested but they are grounded on his experiences from years of working at the Hay Management Group. In his book The Connected he sets out a number of key propositions that leaders should reflect upon as follows:

He proposed that customers [ clients, users,] are engaging with products, services and brands in different ways. They no longer responds to products and services sold on economic incentives but to engage fully and remain loyal to the organisation, they seek give and take through moral and social obligations. He talks about the notion of the people economy which is characterised by the need of customers to engage with communities that enable them to co-create meaning.
Secondly he argued that organisations built on formal accountabilities not only find it hard to cope with reciprocity but they actively destroy it. It is this that causes the disconnection between organisation and people and if left unattended will grow and grow. Some of us will recall the work of Maslach that discussed the concept of “burn-out at work”. Recent studies now talk of the concept of “ bored out” at work. Leaders will need to address this quickly to re-engage their people.
Thirdly Gobillot like others accounts for the leaders influence at engaging people through two ways; one is based on the formal authority conferred upon them by their position; the other is through informal authority based on their personal credibility. He believes that informal authority will be more critical to the success of leaders in context of the emergence of the people economy.

To make a difference as well as to succeed, leaders will need to exercise personal influence to reconstruct the social networks inside their organisations. Being visible, effective role modelling, co-creating and developing a shared narrative through informal connections will be critical to lubricating the formal structure, spread expertise and innovation and create the flexibility needed to respond the demands of the people economy. This ensure that customers and stakeholders engage with the organisation.

Leadership at all levels within the organisation will need to develop three key components in order to create social and moral connections . These three components are:

• That they are trustworthy and have trusts in others.
• They give meaning to the relationship by creating a shared agenda
• They encourage dialogue and powerful conversations as a way to secure engagement.

His 6th and final propositions is that by understanding and developing the characteristics of connected leadership that leaders can create more of the “real organisation” and it is the vitality of the real organisation which needs to be harnessed to deliver on the goals of the formal organisation .
Gobillot writes in an engaging fashion and his work is well worth reading. But you can also see him on the web at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-G1SF83RRtk for part of his presentation at Google University.

On connecting and engaging with people
Having made contact with Gobillot’s work and on the case for connected leadership and for engagement, how do leaders actually connect and engage with their people.

How do you personally connect with your people and when last have you asked them how effective you are?
For me the importance of visibility and personal contact is key. So please allow me to share a few random thoughts and reflections, some of which I have shared elsewhere and apologies to those of you who have read them before. A short while ago I was chasing a small project with a major supermarket chain and had cause to attend meetings at their HQ with a couple of their senior leaders. There was a feeling of a market place for those meetings, open access, relaxed and informal settings that encouraged high visibility. Indeed employees, senior leaders and visitors mingled freely at the refreshment kiosks [for water, tea, coffee etc] which were in open grazing areas where people including senior leaders were highly visible. There is something about such settings that are designed to enable people to connect physically that makes social connection easier.
In similar vein, at a meeting with a CEO friend and colleague in a public sector organisation, the first part of the meeting lasting less than 15 minutes took place in his office, the remaining 45 minute took place over a walk about, in which he was able to connect with several other small groups and individuals without affecting the flow of our exchange or the work of the e small groups. It was a wonderful experience of seeing how easy it was to use one’s time for effectively engaging with people in their day to day work.
Many of us will recall the TV series on Can Sir Gerry Save the NHS. One of the notable clips of that series was of Sir Gerry cajoling one CEO to make walkabout part of his weekly business. To his credit the CEO did take up the advise and the walk about sessions did make quite an impact on the CEO’s work. Visibility, access and meaningful connection it would appear are contingent upon the way we view, value and use space.
There is something about the label we attach to space and what is says about us and the culture in which we work. At one meeting a few years back with a senior leader at an organisation, I felt that we were in some else’s office as there were family photographs and other souvenirs. “Whose office is this” I enquired. “Oh this belongs to our CEO and when she is not here the room is used for meetings; it is standard practice here”, I was told. How leaders connect with their people and teams I know will vary depends on the size of the organisation, their workload and geography amongst other factors. But making time to connect by being visible and accessible at a physical level are as important as being able to listen, to communicate with confidence, honesty and with trust and to engage in meaningful conversations on what really matters to people. The work of two thought leaders are of some value here. The first is that of Harrison Owen the pioneer of OPEN SPACE and the other is that of Marvin Weisbord who with his colleague Sandra Janoff are behind the approach know as FUTURE SEARCH.

Peter Drucker Emanuel Gobillot Harrison Owen Marvin Weisbord and Sandra Janoff Don Tapscott Dr David Cooperrider Dr Marshall Goldsmith Rosabeth Moss Kanter Prof Lynda Gratton Rod Beckstrom