Relationships

Abstract

One of the great ironies of our contemporary world is that while individualism has become a hallmark of our society, our organisations desperately depend on its people having the ability to form strong relationships. Now, the onus is upon leaders to carefully nurture and skilfully manage the human resource within the organisation by focussing on such things as relationships , interpersonal skills, psychological commitment, communication , empowerment, teamwork, trust, participation, and flexibility. This change to the focus of contemporary leadership raises a crucial question: how are wisdom -led leaders better able to cope with this new expectation? This chapter addresses this important question by explaining how a leader’s consciousness is intrinsically relational. This chapter advances the previously described understanding of the nature of consciousness so as to emphasise its complete dependence on intersubjectivity. There is something about human consciousness that requires the presence of the “other” as another subject that can acknowledge one’s being. Hence, this chapter clearly describes how the development of a leader’s wisdom through self-reflection inevitably enhances their relational capabilities. It is shown that the development of relationally adept leaders is about nurturing their consciousness rather than providing them with more rationally based procedures to follow. I n today’s challenging organisational environment in which relationships and interpersonal skills are pivotal, being a successful leader is about being a wisdom -led leader.