6 Leadership Principles Drawn from Psychology

Since leadership is about influencing people to act in a certain way, and psychology is the study of the human mind, it is sensible to combine the two disciplines. What can one tell us about the other?

Drawing principles from psychology reveals a number of useful leadership lessons that are widely applicable – be it in consulting, corporate, legal, or the business world more broadly.

Principle #1: Leadership style must be adaptable

According to Situational Theory and Trait Theory, the way a leader guides their followers will depend on many factors other than the leader’s relative position of authority. For instance, the type of tasks being carried out, the urgency of those task, the qualities of the followers (e.g., their age and abilities), the personal characteristics of the leader, and the leader-follower dynamic created by the mixture of people in the group. These factors will all dictate the most appropriate style of leadership that should be used in any given situation. What works in one situation to lead a group, may utterly fail in another.

In a world that emphasises the importance of skills being transferable, this is a point worth remembering. Not every leadership approach can be transferred between contexts. Due to the number of variables impacting any given situation, the transferability of leadership strategies cannot be assumed. Instead, leadership style must be highly malleable – moulded and modified as necessary for each situation.

Principle #2: Leadership is a state of mind

Integrated Psychology Theory suggests that the most effective leaders exert influence not only on a public level, but also in personal one-to-one interactions. In other words, leadership is not a quality that is merely ‘turned on’ when the situation requires. In psychology, researchers have studied leadership holistically, examining patterns of behaviour both in and outside of leadership roles. What they have found is that strong leaders don’t ‘rise to the demands of the situation’, but rather lead and influence people in each situation. In a sense, leadership is not a task, tactic, or strategy but rather a holistic mindset.

Principle #3: The primacy of posture

Amy Cuddy, a social psychologist at Harvard Business School, has shown that simply assuming a powerful body posture can significantly improve the perception and reception of a leader. For instance, standing with an open chest and expanded limbs would signal confidence and command of the situation. Cuddy’s insight implies that posture and body language are just as important as verbal communication for building a leader-follower dynamic.

Principle #4: Prioritise personal connections

Leader Member Exchange Theory (LMX) asserts that the key aspect of leadership is the one-to-one relationship that the leader builds with each follower where trust and respect are paramount in building these relationships.  Without these personal connections, the leader cannot be effective, regardless of their charisma and efficacy.

Although LMX was a product of the 1970s, leadership which prioritises personal connection has surged in importance after the pandemic, a period which separated people and required them to work from home for an extended period. Interestingly, the interpersonal dynamic before the pandemic was often the reverse, with professional distance between the leader and subordinate being viewed as professional and a way to show respect.

Obviously this changing interpersonal dynamic will not be the case in all fields, but there is a trend emerging in the business context.

Principle #5: Leaders must also be followers

LMX theory, mentioned above, indicates that leadership is impossible without the trust and respect of followers. Leaders must therefore have a certain amount of humility, and invest time in building trust and respect. In a sense, leaders must be followers of those under their command, since without being guided by what traits they admire in a leader, it will be harder to gain their trust and respect.

Principle #6: Remain aware of group dynamics

Extrinsic motivation is a theory of motivation whereby behaviour can be modified by using rewards or punishments. By rewarding and punishing certain behaviour, a leader can increase or decrease the likelihood that those behaviours reoccur. Wages are an example of extrinsic motivation. However, workplaces often take this further by rewarding good results with an end of year bonus.

Whilst this is standard business practice, there is a downside of such reward systems. They can create an ‘ingroup’ of people who receive rewards, and an ‘outgroup’ of those who fail to meet expectations. Although it is not the intention of the leader to segment followers in such a way, patterns of rewards that impact certain team members and not others will inevitably create distinctions between those members. As a result, this can lead to division. Being a leader therefore requires paying attention not only of yourself and your interpersonal relationships, but also to the dynamics of the entire group.

The bottom line

So, what has psychology taught us about being a better leader?

To summarise:

• Leadership is situational – The most appropriate leadership style in one situation might not be appropriate in another.
• Leadership is a constant – Leadership is a holistic mindset, not a one-off action, tactic, or strategy.
• Leadership is visible – Your posture and body language are important.
• Leadership is personal – Building personal relationships can be professional in a modern business context.
• Leadership is followership – By paying attention to what followers value, it will be easier to gain their trust and respect.
• Leadership is social psychology – Although each individual should feel valued for their contribution, giving outsized rewards to a few people can backfire by creating an in-group/out-group dynamic that reduces cooperation and motivation.

Sukhi R. is a graduate from Warwick Law School currently studying an MSc in Business with Consulting at Warwick Business School. She has a keen interest in the business psychology of consulting and plans to enter the industry in the near future.

Image: Pexels

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