Jun 11, 2025
Begin each day with a “promotion-focus” ethics cue: praise a teammate’s honest act, share a quick story of moral courage, or ask how the group can make the right call in today’s work. Save rule-policing reminders for the rare moments they are truly needed. Research...
Jun 11, 2025
Research shows that when followers receive a mixture of ethical and abusive signals from the same leader, their justice uncertainty and emotional exhaustion increase whereas their task performance and voice decline. Maintaining steady, principled conduct reduces...
Jun 11, 2025
If you find yourself “reluctantly staying,” take ten minutes to reconnect with the purpose in your role: list two concrete ways your leadership improves employees’ day-to-day work and one quick action you can take this week to amplify that impact. Leaders who restore...
Jun 11, 2025
When a coworker asks for task help, first check the time pressure. If the deadline is comfortable, coach them through the process so they can solve similar problems on their own next time. This autonomy-oriented help signals genuine care for their long-term mastery,...
Jun 11, 2025
Base your authority on expertise and voluntary followership rather than intimidation. Share know-how, credit others publicly, and frame requests around how the whole team benefits. Research shows that this “prestige” style signals strong moral character, tightens...
Jun 11, 2025
Before you step into a new leadership role, list five behaviors that define your “true-self” style, set them beside the organization’s official leadership model, and mark the overlaps and clashes. Turn the comparison into a one-page “authenticity–conformity pact,”...
Jun 11, 2025
Before starting work, spend one minute vividly recalling a significant other, such as a parent, mentor, or close friend, and write a few lines about how they supported you. A field experiment with 97 leaders and 194 followers showed that this quick “significant-other...
Jun 11, 2025
Respond to tough questions with a brief, good-natured laugh and pause so the questioner can join you; when the laughter is reciprocated, onlookers judge you as far warmer and become more willing to support your decisions and voice concerns, whereas laughing alone...
Jun 11, 2025
When subordinates experience your authority as a source of potential gains rather than penalties, they judge you as benevolent and respond with more exploratory ideas and risk-taking. This effect is especially strong for staff who are sensitive to hierarchy.
Apr 25, 2024
To lead or to be liked? Michigan Ross Professor Charleen Case and colleagues uncovered that leaders who are worried about prestige and how others perceive them often make bad decisions at the expense of the group. Experiment with divorcing your own feelings and ego...
Apr 25, 2024
Want to be seen as more charismatic and leader-like? Make sure you are looking into the eyes of the people with whom you’re speaking. Research shows that the frequency and duration of eye contact leads leaders to be seen as more charismatic and...
Apr 25, 2024
Being humble is contagious! Research confirms that team members emulate leaders who show humility, which can enable the team to perform at its highest potential. One way to show humility is by asking for help. Take time this week to experiment with asking for help...