One of the prized attributes of successful leaders today is “authenticity.” Research has shown that leaders who are perceived as honest and genuine and remain true to themselves positively impact the well-being of their employees, inspiring them to trust the organization, work harder, and perform at a higher level. In their quest for power and […]
Read More… from Showing a Weakness Makes Leaders More Authentic
One resilient conclusion from leadership commentators and observers is the connection between extraversion and leadership—that is, extraverted individuals are more likely to become leaders than introverted individuals. Leadership research, however, continuously calls into question this conclusion. Consistently over time, the results are mixed: some research will show a link between extraversion and leadership, and other […]
Read More… from Why Extraverts Don’t Necessarily Make Good Leaders
Individuals engaged in contentious conversations about controversial issues rarely communicate to others in the discussion that they are willing to respectfully consider opposing viewpoints—what social scientists “receptiveness.” One reason may be that these individuals are indeed not “receptive” to contrary opinions. Another reason, however, may be that they do not know how to communicate their […]
Read More… from “I respect your opinion”: How to Improve the Exchange of Opposing Views
Leadership involves a dynamic relationship between leader and follower to which both parties contribute. The study of “followership,” focuses on the vital role that followers play in the leader-follower relationship and, consequently, the role that followers play in the success of the organization. For example, poor followership, such as blindly following an incompetent or unethical […]
Read More… from Followers Can Fix the Damage of Leadership Incompetence
One often-overlooked element of an organization’s success is sharing of advice— information with guidance or recommendations. Advice is clearly beneficial to the individuals receiving the advice, who can use it and learn from it, and thus improve their performance; as such, advice is also clearly beneficial to the organization’s performance as whole. Yet many employees […]
Read More… from Why Employees Are Suspicious of Unsolicited Advice
How does one listen well? The answer—as revealed in an exhaustive review of the listening research published between 2000 and 2021—is often built on the speaker’s perception. For example, some common signs of a good listener include: acknowledging the speaker through non-verbal reactions (nodding the head) or verbal reactions (“hmm,” “yes”); continuing to watch the […]
Read More… from The Listening Paradox: Why Listening Is Often Difficult
People treat each other differently at work than in non-work settings, and with good reason: they are work colleagues brought together solely to accomplish the work necessary for their jobs. They are not loved ones, family, or even close friends who come together for personal reasons. Work relationships, however, can veer too far from the […]
Read More… from Why Objectification of People Is Rampant at Work
As human beings, we are spectacular at pulling off all the complicated tasks it takes to have a conversation. The one conversation challenge we have not mastered is coordinating the end of the conversation. In most cases, according to recent research, a conversation ends either later or earlier than either partner wants it to end, and for […]
Read More… from Conversations Don’t End When We Want Them To
What is charisma? Much of past research focuses on the outcomes of charisma and often within the context of leaders in an organizational setting—e.g., charismatic leaders generate emotions that inspire others to follow them. However, leaders are not the only people in our lives who exhibit charisma, argues a team of researchers from the University […]
Read More… from Charisma beyond Leadership: Influence + Affability
Most attempts at persuasion are met by wary resistance. People are naturally suspicious of the motives of persuaders, ready to believe that persuaders will use devious means to achieve their goal of persuasion. Previous research has focused on linguistic cues—that is, the words that persuaders can use to overcome this natural resistance. However, in their […]
Read More… from Persuading with Pitch, Volume and Non-Verbal Cues
