The ARC of Support: Manager-as-Role-Model

1 Sept

Napoléon Bonaparte reportedly once said that “leaders are dealers in hope”. I’ve always liked this quote because it captures the emotional dimension of leadership quite simply - the challenge of winning the hearts & minds of those that follow. This is no easy task. It is especially tricky when things are moving fast and/or times are tough.

Yes indeed, leading is a tough gig. Visioning, formulating & communicating strategy, anticipating problems, contingency planning, structuring a workforce (& delegating to it) then – to cap it all off – the constant need to engender a positive, we-can-do-it attitude in those charged with making it happen.

This is the emotional dimension of leadership. The very hope the Little Corporal (Napoleon) was referring to. An optimistic state of mind that comes from buying into a common goal, seeing ways to attain it & feeling it can be done. A feeling state that – it appears – is best achieved when leaders interact positively with their followers.

Behold the boss!

Social learning theorists have long argued that we learn a lot about appropriate social behaviours & norms by observing others, particularly those who are credible. This gives leader-follower interactions added importance. Why? Because what employees hear leaders say is only part of what they retain. The other part is, of course, non-verbal. Behavioural scientists have long known that non-verbal communication represents a big slice of the total communication mix, even if they’re still working out the exact size of the slice.

The contagions of leadership

Over the past few years, researchers have increasingly focused on the ripple, or radiation, effects of leadership. Typically, their studies have looked at how employees experience leaders in a variety of work situations & what the ‘downstream’ consequences of these experiences are (both positive & negative). For example:

Charisma

In a 2016 U.S. study, researchers investigated the impact of sleep deprivation on charismatic leadership. They found that sleep was important for charisma, such sleep-deprived leaders were rated as being less emotionally connected, genuine & inspiring when giving a speech, compared to leaders who were well-rested. Interestingly, when direct reports were sleep-deprived, these followers also rated their leaders as less charismatic, because being tired decreased their positive emotion.

As such, a lack of sleep can lead someone to be “too tired to inspire or be inspired”, suggesting it has both individual and systemic effects.

Organisational engagement

Leader listening behaviours have also been the focus of research efforts. A recent German study got leaders to rate how well they listened, & employees to rate how well they felt listened to. Analysis showed that good listening was linked to less emotional exhaustion & turnover intention amongst employees, & helped them to be better organisational citizens.

As such, the question “is my boss really listening to me?” seems hugely significant becuase basic competence in listening appears to be a no-cost driver of employee engagement. And also of hope, as employees who participated in this study did not report an intention to leave (an indication of hopelessness), nor report other negative impacts , like exhaustion.

Work-life balance

As most people now know, increased telecommuting for work comes with a hard edge. The reliance on smartphones & mobile devices has created greater pressure to constantly remain online, ready to respond quickly - day or night - to whatever the organisation might need. As a result, it has become harder to psychologically detach from work.

In 2019, a research team investigated this issue from the employees’ perspective. They wanted to know, does a leader’s ability or inability to detach effect their subordinate’s ability to do likewise? They found that it does! The work strain symptoms of subordinates were related to how well their boss was managing their own work-life divide (e.g., by not messaging out of hours).

A clearer view?

Findings like these clearly show that leaders have a profound effect on followers. Whether it be via close contact or remote observation, their influence on employee’s can be wide-ranging. This can include how much positive emotion they experience (e.g., inspiration), how much negative emotion they experience (e.g., exhaustion), how pro-socially they act (e.g., ethical behaviour), and/or how they balance work & life (e.g., psychological detachment).

Such insights give leaders many reasons to stop & reflect. Reflect on how they manage themselves & how that relates to others. As systems science has shown us, no one is an island. We impact others & others impact us. To the extent we can manage ourselves well - & role model it for others - our impact on followers is likely to be constructive & beneficial.

Live well. Do well.

This brings some basics back into clear view. Simple actions that leaders can take to ensure their interactions with employees are as positive as they can be. Routines & rituals (like good sleep & physical activity habits) that support the energy needed to, for example, maintain the focus needed for active listening and inspire those around us.

Personal practices that leaders can role model & - to quote Napoleon again - help them become better ‘dealers in hope’.

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