Bringing people together through polylogue

“I have a different vision of leadership. A leadership is someone who brings people together.”
Bartlett, Tennessee, 18 August, 2000

Thus said outgoing American president George W. Bush. This was one quote among many that the BBC recently put together in a collection of Bush misstatements. While he didn’t get the words out right, his sentiment, that a leader is someone who brings people together, is actually true.

Engaging is one of the sides to great leaders that Nada, our co-author Linda, and I identified in our book Leading for Success. Great leaders are able to bring people together in an organisation and engage them in a way that benefits all stakeholders.

One way to do this is through effectively harnessing polylogue, the multiple dialogue of simultaneous conversations which need to exist within a company for the most effective use of the effort and experience within. Embracing the multidirectional dialogue of many (often conflicting) opinions ensures the most informed environment possible, but it takes a strong leader to allow the room for it to thrive.

The skill of perfecting polylogue lies in the leader’s ability to motivate and direct followers in a certain way, value the input he or she gains from those followers, and pull it upwards in one direction for the good of all. As well as being approachable and ensuring a transparent communication system, leaders must be confident enough to be able to allow others to shine and not feel threatened by new talent and different opinion. This is an altruistic stance where they think less of themselves and more about the overall good of the company.

It isn’t easy, but leaders who manage and understand a multitude of opinions in an organisation through polylogue really do ‘bring people together’ in a positive way for their company.