Positive Psychology at Work:

Effective Leadership Behaviour

What does the effective leader do in situations of large-scale change if they aren't directing and shaping? Rowland and Higgs found that leaders who demonstrated a strong combination of framing and creating capacity behaviours appeared to be particularly successful in most change scenarios. So next they examined these in more detail, conducting a further study with 60 leaders from over 30 organizations and garnering over 100 change stories (Rowland and Higgs, 2008). Analysis of these data revealed four distinct sets of leadership change practice and behaviour. They called these ‘changing leadership’ behaviours attractor behaviours, edge and tension behaviours, container behaviours and movement or transforming space behaviours. The most successful change leaders were able to enact all these behaviours at different times in different contexts, as appropriate.

1) Attractor behaviour

Attractor behaviour creates a magnetic pull in the organization towards the change. Leaders displaying this behaviour generate a shared spirit, facilitating the creation of connected stories and releasing energy for the change. Immediately, we can see what Appreciative Inquiry has to offer as it is all about creating a magnetic pull towards a desirable future. The co-creation of dreams of the future, the positive energy and the co-created stories about the organization are all effectively attractor behaviours. Attractor behaviour also encompasses creating emotional attachments ...