ABOUT CONNECTIVE CLARITY

This is a book for leaders who choose to see genuine leadership as a continuous exploration of the question,

How do I become meaningful as a leader?

This kind of leadership is about how to invite (not convince) others to say, yes to your initiative, to your request, to your qualities as a leader.
This involves some challenges, including how to:
Be precise about what you invite your team members to:

• Deal with how team members respond to your invitation
• Increase the chance of getting, yes as an answer
• Build on the qualities of every team member (including yourself)?
• Encourage team members to take initiative, to dare take action
• Get every team member, regardless of position or role, to take responsibility for their choices and for the consequences of their choices

The basic ingredient is clarity, together with a shared mindset and language, which enables you to strive for connective clarity.

Connective Clarity

Natural horse behaviour inspired me to develop this concept.
Leadership in a herd of horses is not a top-down issue, nor a fixed position of an individual that forces others to obey. Leadership is based on different qualities that the herd benefits from (connection!).

Every individual horse plays a part in taking care of the safety of the herd and thus performs autonomously within the dynamics of the herd. The horses that have the qualities that are needed in a certain moment take the initiative.
Their initiative is a powerful invitation for the other herd members; however, they wont accept the invitation blindly. The herd will test the qualities constantly. Not as a personal attack, but to check whether the qualities can be relied upon in this moment. And this needs proof (clarity!), not hope.
How do I become meaningful as a leader? also invites leaders to adopt a Solution Focused outlook:

• You need to be clear in what you really want, translate this best hope into a clear view of the future and share it, it will make your invitation (even) stronger
• When you explore what is already working you will find a lot of resources you and your team can build further on
• Take small steps, actions you all agree upon and that you can and dare take right now. Start walking and keep on moving.

Long before I knew about Solution Focus, horses had taught me the basic principles of this approach.

This book invites and encourages you and your team to adopt the qualities of a herd. This will result in stronger connections and better results in less time and with less effort because everyone takes responsibility to deliver and to receive clear messages.

Enjoy the ride!
Wendy van den Bulk