“ Touchy Feely ” is what the Interpersonal Dynamics course that forms part of the School ’ s MBA programme came to be known as because of the huge focus on the human and emotional element of leadership in the course .
It is the content of this course that was collated and is now presented in the book Connect . Bradford and Robin explain how one can develop what they call exceptional relationships by way of five examples . They tell the story of different people with different relationships , the challenges they faced and how they overcame them ( or not ). There are also challenges for the reader to try and develop exceptional relationships with family , friends and / or colleagues .
With regard to exposing one ’ s emotions at work , the authors point out that “ leaders , especially , are often afraid to reveal personal information that defies the perception that they totally have their acts together – what if others respect them less ? If the disclosure casts doubt on the person ’ s competence to do the job , then sharing the information can cause a loss of influence and respect , but otherwise , it helps the leader be seen as more human .”
For those who are hesitant to reveal too much of their personality and emotions at work , they have a valid warning : “ The less we reveal , the more others will fill in the blanks in order to make sense of what they see .” The problem with this is that this “ filling in ” might not be an accurate portrayal of who you are .
Back to Hamlet .
One has to wonder how that story might have ended if he had information at hand such as what is available in Connect .
He might have decided to break all contact with his backstabbing uncle , but maybe , just maybe , our Prince of Denmark would have survived the power struggle , and he could have rather pondered : “ To Connect , or not to Connect !”
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