Abstract
The present quasi-experimental study tested the business impact of a leadership development program focusing on psychological well-being through the satisfaction of basic psychological needs. Based on the concept of engaging leadership and self-determination theory, the 8-month program targeted midlevel team leaders of the customer fulfilment center of a health systems multinational organization. The program was designed in co-creation between senior leadership and the team leaders that participated in the program. Outcomes showed positive business results through significant increases in a preselected key performance indicator and decreased employee absenteeism. Through changes in autonomy satisfaction and intrinsic motivation, the team leaders (N = 14) benefitted in a moderate to very large extent relative to a similar control group (N = 52). In contrast, team members (N = 148) displayed no such benefits. Specifically, higher levels of autonomy satisfaction are said to lead to higher levels of psychological well-being and motivation. Still, the link with business performance is absent in most organizational studies within self-determination theory, making the present study one of the first to fill this gap. The study discloses the program design, compares the effects to a relevant control group, evaluates the lessons learned, and provides practical suggestions.
Highlights
Leadership effectiveness is of primary concern to organizations— the popularity of leadership development programs and the considerable investment organizations make in such programs [1].Organizations are confronted with rapid change, growing interdependencies, and complexity in what is generally characterized as a world of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) [2].In response, organizations are experimenting with emerging approaches to leadership development [3].One recent trend is the aim of synthesizing the growing popularity of self-management [4,5] with the development needs of individuals [6] and the pursuit of agility [7]
For team members in the intervention group, low scores on engaging leadership seemed predictive of medium risk of later dropout (t(104) = 3.29; p < 0.01; 95% CI, confidence interval
The present study showed that a leadership development program focusing on engaging leadership and psychological well-being led to significant positive business results and lower absenteeism
Summary
Leadership effectiveness is of primary concern to organizations— the popularity of leadership development programs and the considerable investment organizations make in such programs [1].Organizations are confronted with rapid change, growing interdependencies, and complexity in what is generally characterized as a world of volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity (VUCA) [2].In response, organizations are experimenting with emerging approaches to leadership development [3].One recent trend is the aim of synthesizing the growing popularity of self-management [4,5] with the development needs of individuals [6] and the pursuit of agility [7]. Leadership effectiveness is of primary concern to organizations— the popularity of leadership development programs and the considerable investment organizations make in such programs [1]. Organizations are experimenting with emerging approaches to leadership development [3]. One recent trend is the aim of synthesizing the growing popularity of self-management [4,5] with the development needs of individuals [6] and the pursuit of agility [7]. Participatory and more individualized approaches to leadership development gain ground [8]. A participatory approach involves the target group of leaders—the leaders who will participate in a development program—in the development and goal setting of the program together with their senior management. Conceiving a leadership development program together with its participants in a co-creation process helps to align
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