Every great leader has the ability to relate to their team and people in their sphere of influence. If you want to be a superior leader, you must learn to connect with people. Relational leadership dramatically raises your influence as a leader. Team loyalty requires that you relate with your team through empathy, understanding, truth, fairness, respect, and mutual accountability. If a leader will give of themselves in these areas to their team, their team will be loyal and will follow their leadership anywhere. Ignore the need for connection and your leadership influence will be limited or a disaster. Read 1 Kings 12:1-24.

King Rehoboam had an opportunity to make some reasonable concessions to the people of the nation of Israel in the early days of his leadership that would indicate he understood their situation, empathized with their circumstances and would be fair in his leadership. Even when the previous king’s closest advisers counseled Rehoboam that he could win the people’s hearts forever by lightening their workload and tax burden, he turned a deaf ear to the people’s need.