Chapter 10: Embracing Connectivity for Agility

OVERVIEW

We glide past each other. But why? Why—? We reach out towards the other. In vain—because we have never dared to give ourselves.

—DAG HAMMARSKJÖLD, MARKINGS

In Chapter 8 we discussed the importance of building a foundation of openness through improved personal communication skills—self-disclosure and feedback—and understanding the importance of defining, building, sustaining, and measuring trust within an enterprise as the foundation of a partnering culture. We also demonstrated how these two competencies are inseparably linked, creating a powerful bond between word and action, resulting in trust. In Chapter 9 we added to the blueprint for building a partnering culture by stressing the need to create a future orientation—both with people and business operations—which gives leaders the creativity and adaptability needed to reconnect smoothly in new, unexpected ways when market conditions change. In this chapter we complete the blueprint by explaining why leaders must embrace connectivity to gain agility with a win-win orientation and by embedding a mutual sense of loyalty through interdependence.