the art of leading

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The August/September 2007 issue of Scientific American MIND Magazine has an extraordinary cover story: The New Psychology of Leadership. I didn’t even finish reading the cover before I had bought it. I had wanted to write about the relationship between psychology and leadership for some time now, so this came at the perfect moment. It is solidly backed by interesting studies, so I’ll be referring to this article and its sources more profoundly in future posts. For now I’ll outline its major points.

The gist of the article is this:

1. Leadership theory has evolved from Max Weber’s “charismatic leadership” to today’s “consensus” or “collaborative” leadership.

2. Personality traits such as charisma or intelligence aren’t prerequisites to being a leader.

3. Leaders must fit into their following and express their own agendas in terms of the group’s identity.

So basically, what the authors are saying is that groups select their leaders based on who represents them the most faithfully. If a group is characterized by people who firmly believe in equality, the someone who practices favoritism is not going to exert much influence.

This isn’t necessarily a grandiose breakthrough. What is important, though, is that this perspective is different from the “charisma and intelligence is enough” school of thought, which has been the strongest one for a long time. It also shows how regular Joe Schmoes like you and I can wield incredible influence, by being aware of a following’s traits and using them to communicate our own visions.

The complete article can be found at:
Scientific American Mind: The New Psychology of Leadership
Recent research in psychology points to secrets of effective leadership that radically challenge conventional wisdom

Categories : Communication, Goals, Loyalty, Relationships //