As I work with leaders on change projects and strategy execution I always make it a point to talk with the people on the front lines of the organization.  Whether I am conducting one-on-one interviews, focus groups, or larger input meetings one theme emerges in company after company: “Our leadership makes decisions without understanding what we really do and how those decisions impact us.”

Hundreds of others have said it, but apparently the point bears repeating:  If you want your people to accept and support change, you must first show that you understand the organization from their perspective.

When we try to motivate others or mobilize energy for a change, the most important element is being able to connect with people.  An authentic connection has a lot of ingredients, including understanding:

• What matters to this person;
• What is this person’s reality;
• What is this person trying to accomplish at work;
• What is getting in the way?

Attempting to change anything without intimately knowing the answers to the above is a recipe for disaster. Take, for example, leaders who try to “boost morale” with ridiculous actions that only serve to demonstrate their lack of a clue.  David Spark recently wrote a post about 10 tales of condescending morale boosting efforts.  The examples he shares are incredibly funny in the way that Dilbert is funny -  familiar and painful.

Contrast these awful examples with leaders who know how to connect with the emotions and reality of their people.  One of my favorite examples comes from Peter Bregman.  Bregman wrote about the CEO of a software company who skipped his usual morale-boosting  visionary holiday speech and instead authentically empathized with what his people were thinking and feeling after a very tough year. After the speech, more people came up to thank, appreciate, and congratulate him than after any speech he had given before.  (You can read Bregman’s article and the CEO’s speech here.)

Michael Abrashoff, past captain of the U.S. Navy’s USS Benfold put it best, saying,

Acting in accordance with this belief helped Abrashoff lead 311 sailors through one of the greatest turnaround stories of the modern military. Similarly, as a leader at any level, it is critical that you understand your organization from the point of view of the people on your front line.