The New Psychology of Leadership (And Why People Follow)

A new psychology of leadership negates the old notion that leadership is exclusively a top-down process. 

I am a USAF Veteran. I know what a “command and control” leadership style sounds and feels like. I myself have been guilty of displaying these types of traits fueled by the pressures of the deadlines and desire (it’s a need - really) to produce top-notch work (another need really- a competitive nature to be among the best). 

The truth is, that this type of leadership will produce disengagement and worse, actively disengaged employees. The fact is that unless you are in the business of war as with the military, this way of leading is not effective if you want to get the best from the talents in your organization. 

Consider there is a better way.  

Effective leaders must not assume absolute authority will get the best performance or outcomes, but rather work to understand their followers' values, strengths, and perspectives to enable a productive dialogue that, in turn, drives the engagement and performance of team members. 

I hear my task driven, goal oriented, no nonsense leaders saying, “I don’t have time for “productive strengths-based dialogue,” we are paying people to do a job - “just do it.” I ask you, what is this old way of doing things costing you? Hint - your team member’s engagement. 

“Gallup research indicates that changes in employee engagement are best attributed to changes in how organizations develop employees.” 

-Jim Harter, Ph.D., is Chief Scientist

This new model better empowers leaders to lead-well and achieve optimized collaborative performance and thrive together through the development of team members - and the culture in which they thrive in. 

Leadership theorist Bernard Bass of Binghamton University has shown that leaders are most effective when they can induce followers to see themselves as group members and to see the group's interest as their own.

But how do leaders do that effectively?

Aside from a leader's ability to lead with authenticity by developing self-awareness and a very specific type of communication, which I wrote about in my last blog, here is one other key quality effective leaders must possess.

Integrated Emotional Intelligence™

The answer lies in the leader's ability to lead with authenticity with Integrated Emotional Intelligence™. And even if this skill set is not innate, it can be learned.  

Imagine that, like an iceberg, about 90% of who we are (and our potential) is hidden from view. That means we've got a lot of room to get to know ourselves.

This kind of deep self-reflection and personal development is life-changing. It's also a necessary ingredient in genuinely effective leadership. By doing this personal development work first, leaders set the stage for increasing emotional intelligence.

Perhaps you'll notice, effective leaders and authentic leaders possess the same qualities (it's no coincidence).

Consider.

Barking commands at a team is not an effective way to lead. Instead, effective leaders understand that communicating clearly starts with actively listening. This intentional form of communication requires transparency and directness, but also a willingness to hear feedback without ego or conflict muddying the message. 

I know. I know. I hear you saying, "I am busy. Who has time to manage how others "hear me" and how they interpret my directness."

If leaders want to be effective in driving the mission without sacrificing trust and a culture where all feel they belong (and therefore are engaged in their roles), they must make time to listen -actively. This is foundational when developing emotional intelligence.  

According to research compiled in, It's The Manager, by Jim Clifton and Jim Harter (2019), the non-negotiable traits for Managers (Leaders) are the ability to: 

• Break down, silos, the "us vs. them."

• Bring people together as a team.

• Make good decisions

• Be a "Coach" rather than a "Boss."

And these traits complement and support the research findings of a Gallup Press (2008) study that looked at 1 million work teams and conducted 20,000 in-depth interviews of leaders worldwide.

They asked, "Why do people follow?"

They discovered that people follow leaders who: 

• Always invest in strengths

• Surround themselves with the right people

• Understand and meet their followers' four basic needs; trust, compassion, stability, and hope.

Seems simple enough, right?

While the concept is easy to understand, putting these practices into action may be a bit more challenging. And that's because developing emotional intelligence is not always so obvious as a foundational step. 

Trying to implement these concepts to optimize your teams to drive the mission without a solid understanding of the impact of your own strengths, triggers, and thought patterns, and those of others, would not yield the desired results. 

The bottom line is…

Strong leadership arises from a symbiotic relationship between leaders and followers within a given social group, and hence, requires an understanding of both personal and group psychology. But none of that is possible without first being grounded in your own self-awareness which enables the development of emotional intelligence. 

That's precisely why we created the Integrated Whole-Self Leader™ (IWSL) course. As our innovative flagship program, it takes a decidedly different approach to leadership development and coaching. We’ve even developed a process to develop emotional intelligence. We call it Integrated Emotional Intelligence™. Follow us as we tell you all about it in our next blog.

The IWSL course is a whole-person approach that incorporates psychology, biology, and neuroscience to help leaders actualize next-level potential.

Through our Integrated Whole-Self Discernment™ and Integrated Strengths™ framework, leaders will learn how to develop skill sets and practices needed to interpret what is seen and felt so that they can promote effective leadership and collaborative work. Check out the course curriculum here.

Are you ready to develop and equip your leaders to build a culture where all thrive – together, feel they belong and are engaged in leaving a collaborative legacy?

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We specialize in helping teams and organizations understand and implement practices that cultivate the power of interdependence.

The Wellsiliency™ Institute has developed a series of interdependent courses to comprehensively address the knowledge and skills leaders and teams need to build strengths-based values-driven performance cultures where all experience belonging.

Is cultivating a deliberate culture that leaves a lasting legacy of positive impact in the lives of others important to your organization?

Our institute has designed five program pillars to help leaders be well and lead well through a skill progression from Whole-self Intelligence™ integration to boost resilience and confidence, strengths-based wellbeing, strengths-based team building, strengths-based leadership, and psychological safety to unleash collaboration.

We don't believe in providing superficial programs; instead, we strive to become your collaborative partner by equipping your leaders with the skills they need to create meaningful, enduring outcomes. Our ultimate goal is to help you build a legacy of leadership excellence that will make a real difference in your organization's success.

Contact us to request our 4 page FACT SHEET to learn how our comprehensive 5 PILLAR PROGRAM helps leaders create interdependent teams and organizations.  

Let’s partner to create a more harmonious and sustainable future, where cooperation and mutual support lead to thriving.