Leadership Psychology: Debunking Old-School Management

Commonly held management assumptions are often wrong—particularly when they fail to address human nature.

“It is not the strongest of the species that survives, nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is the most adaptable to change.” ~ Charles Darwin

In his book, CEO Psychology: Who Rises, Who Falls and Why, Dr. Settel highlights the following counterintuitive truths that invalidate previously held business management notions:

1. Organizational conflict can be positive.
2. Rewards and punishments may not effectively inspire employees to work harder or better.
3. Stressed-out employees shouldn’t be given less work. Give them more gratifying work.
4. Performance reviews can be destructive unless delivered in a development-focused, constructive way.
5. Your unconscious mind drives you more powerfully than your conscious one does.
6. Successful leadership is not about personality, but how you apply it.

You needn’t hold a PhD in organizational behavior to understand people’s emotions. You do, however, require a rudimentary understanding of their psychological needs.

In my previous posts on Leadership Psychology, I suggest that leadership can be improved with a basic understanding of human psychology. Three essential leadership skills are:

• Knowing and managing yourself
• Leading others through engagement
• Managing emotions in the workplace

In my work with executives, I have found that they seldom have opportunity to work on their strengths and weaknesses, their ability to influence through engagement, or a safe place to discuss emotions, both their own and those of their staff.

I’m interested in what your experience has been. Do you agree with me about the importance of leadership coaching?

I’ve found that individual coaching is the best way for leaders to improve these essential psychological skills without risk. If you haven’t had a successful coaching experience, then you don’t know what you’re missing. Give me a call 316-634-2328.