I’m beginning to realize that in my work, I don’t strengthen leaders and leadership. Lots of people do that. I think what I do is strengthen leaders/leadership of consequence. You may recall that I adapted this phrase from Eric Schmidt, CEO of Google (he said, “companies of consequence”). A leader of consequence is a leader who matters, who leaves an imprint on the people and places around them, and who, in turn shows the effects of followers on his or her own leadership behaviors and experiences. A leader of consequence is a leader of virtue, duty, and posterity (to use three forgotten words from the 18th and 19th centuries).

I think that a leader of consequence uses bonded communication whenever it is important to do so. That means that he or she does more than simply communicate and goes beyond merely having a definable style of communication. As I’ve discussed in previous posts, bonded communication rises out of the bond between leader and follower, follower and leader. Ask yourself the same question that I’ve been asking myself lately–do I understand and engage in bonded communication?