Why understanding human behaviour shapes leadership capability

Three faceless wooden puppets sit in pensive silence, their posture conveying deep contemplation.

Human behaviour has always been a fascinating concept as far back as the stone ages, when researchers tried to make sense of why our ancestors co-habituated in groups and hunted in packs.  

So why should this be any different in today’s world of work.

Think of the teams we work with, and how each person brings unique perspectives, thoughts, and ideas, but also contributes and shapes the culture we understand to be the organizational environment.

When a person feels unsafe or threatened, their instinct would be to retreat and form a protective space where they cannot be hurt again, and we often see this in team cliques or resistance to change.  

What about when leaders use fear to enforce policies and systems, instead of consultative methods. This would translate into defiance and push back in the form of poor performance.

Organizational leaders speak about building trust and unity in culture, but do we understand, how these concepts come about?

In my 20 years of cumulative academic and professional work in Human resources and People development, the one trait that stood out was, human behaviour. In neurological terms Behavioural science, is the understanding of how human behaviour influences socio and behavioural economics and shapes cognitive thinking.

This is the basis of my support as a Leadership development consultant. And my ‘’Why’’.

Human Interdependence

Until AI rises-up and destroys the human-race... all jokes aside.

Our working environments are predominantly reliant on human beings to function and co-exist optimally.

Despite the current AI doomsday threats, we are still the superior species in the current world of work. And as such, leaders, must recognise that policies, processes, systems and all other performance capabilities should be designed with the human influence in mind, as it sits at the core of organizations productivity.

Not convinced. Let me shed a little more light.

Think for a moment, what happens when policies and systems are enforced onto people without first getting buy-in or commitment?

Look at our political landscape. Across the world, leaders are struggling to rally people to follow their policies without using some form of reward-based incentive.  

Now consider Nelson Mandela as an example. He was able to rally an entire oppressed group of people from a prison cell. How did he do it? By demonstrating that what he believed in was at his core, so much so that he was prepared to go to jail for 27 years. And that’s what people rallied behind.

This leads nicely to my next point.

Walk the talk

How might I do that, you may ask.

I get it, the world of work is getting more complex while expectations continue to soar. Reduce costs, maximise profits, minimise wastage.

These demands may never change, in fact at the rate the world is progressing, it’s only going to compound.

But that doesn’t mean we should stop considering the people in our charge. When policy makers gather to institute a new rule, process or system. First ask, how would this impact the people most affected by this change, what are their thoughts and views on the practicality and is it fit for purpose or just another tick-box exercise.

Transparency is yet another underutilised behavioural trait and useful to support the generation of achievable Key Performance Indicator's (KPI). If KPI’s are steered towards technical ability without considering intrinsic traits like ethics or interpersonal skills, employees with stronger humanistic qualities are side lined for career progression, being sighted as soft in their approach, and this isn't a holistic approach to performance management.

In the development of Talent acquisition strategies, some leaders focus more on identifying high performers rather than people-centred skills. Then after a few months, the new hire struggles to build relationships or manage conflict and is deemed incompetent or placed on performance review.

As a leadership development consultant, I support leaders understand how behavioural science can be applied to recruitment and selection, interpersonal conflict, learning and development, performance management, employee engagement, workplace environment, well-being and organizational change.

If you want to experience the difference contact info@leadershipmattersconsulting.co.za or 0635176568 to discuss the type of support package best suited to your leadership development needs.