More at stake for leaders today in building relationships

Merriam-Webster defines stakeholder as “one who is involved in or affected by a course of action.” For leaders today, that definition describes exactly what is at stake as they attempt to guide and motivate their teams struggling to get business up on its feet.

As experts share their predictions and insights, I know a senior leader, the owner of a well-established SME, who keeps himself away from the limelight. He has already handed over the reins to the next generation and ought to be taking it easy like many of his contemporaries. Instead, he is busy making calls.

One of the recent calls was to someone who used to work for a regulatory agency and who last interacted with the owner, maybe 15 years ago. Most recipients of the calls would not normally make it to the good old rolodex (which I am sure he still maintains despite his smartphone). Yet, there he is, surprising them with his call out of the blue.

Everyone plays a role

The owner has a simple explanation. “There was a time when everything was normal, you were healthy and prosperous. At that time so many people played a role to make that possible, to help you succeed. You may have interacted with them maybe once, just for a few minutes. That contributed in its own way. Today, all of us are down. We need a hand and we need to offer a hand so that all of us can stand up together. And start to walk again.”

His calls often end up being one-sided. He lets people talk. He offers an empathetic ear, comfort, and positivity. Most times, he has no solution to offer. Yet, many feel relief, even a little hope, at the end of the call.

Yes, even when he was active, this owner was the giving kind. He never hesitated to help materially and otherwise. He never held back a good advice even if it was likely to offer an advantage to a competitor. Yet, he was phenomenally successful as an entrepreneur, not the “spiritual pauper” many skeptics expected him to become.

Widen the stakes

There was a time when “stakeholders” essentially meant shareholders, employees, customers, and suppliers. These were people who had a significant influence over the material state of the company.

What about the woman, a senior employee of your old housekeeping contractor, who had a personal stake in keeping your office spick and span?  She is selling vegetables now by the road not far from where you live. Would you care not to bargain too hard when you buy from her? Would you pause long enough to find out if her daughter is making good use of your old laptop to keep up with her online schooling?

It is time for us to rethink our old idea of stakeholders. Yes, the customers, the suppliers, the shareholders, and the employees are all important. Let us also reach out and identify the invisibles and the ignored. Let us spread the net wider and strengthen that network. One day, we will be grateful we did.

Every day, the headlines give us depressing statistics about the spread of the infection. It is in our hands to spread something generously to counter this, something that is equally contagious: goodness!