Humanistic Leadershipand the theory of strengths

© John Steinberg www.steinberg.se

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About John...

• USA, 1971 to Sweden; Ph D in educational psychology

• Author of 40 books about learning, leadership, values and communication

• School headmaster; University teacher

• Örebro City Council - local politics

• www.steinberg.se

• Four books of interest for today’s lecture: Humanistisk ledarskap; Humanistiskt ledarskap lönar sig; Mentorskap, coaching och co-coaching; När surpuppan log

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Main messages• Supportive environment = better bottom line

• Good leadership entails a good self-concept and knowing how ones behavior affects other people

• Lead by values, not by goals

• Balance between controll and freedom

• Use the metaphore of a representative democracy

• Find and use strengths3

Learn from good models

• Who was your best boss? What did he or she do right? Soft? Hard? What was their philosophy? Personal traits?

• Who was a person that help you grow and make leaps forward? What was their philosophy? Personal traits?

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The bottom line?

• People apply for work at a company, school, etc. but leave when their bosses don’t treat them with respect.

• Evidence: less sick days, loyalty towards decisions, more cooperation, more concentration, less recruitment problems

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Models from clinical psychology

• Psychodynamics

• Behaviorism

• Humanistic Psychology

• Cognitive

• Solution based

• Cognitive behavior therapy

• NLP, Neuro Linquistic Programmering

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Psychodynamics

• Freud, Jung & others

• Focus on explanations and interpretations

• Early relationships

• Insight gives freedom of choice

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Behaviorism• Skinner, Watson, Pavlov.

Animal studies

• Focus on behavior: stimuli-response

• Behavior can be encouraged or discouraged by right reenforcement or penalty

B F Skinner

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Humanistic Psychology

• Maslow, Rogers

• Focus on potential, strengths and what works

• Inspiration not control. Belief in “free will”

• Answers are within us

Maslows hierarchy of needs5. Self-fulfullment4. Identity and self-concept3. Belonging2. Security1. Physiology

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Cognitive models

• Piaget, Kohlberg, Gardner

• Focus on plateaus of thinking and attitudes

• Change attitudes and thinking = changed behavior Jean Piaget

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Solutions based models

• Insoo Kim Berg, Peter de Jong, Steve de Shazer

• Solution focused brief therapy

• Focus on solutions not the problem

Miracle question:

If you wake up and everything is solved,

describe what happened!

1-10 Where are you?

To move up, what do you need to do?

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NLP: Neuro linguistic programming

• John Grinder, Richard Bandler, Robert Dilts

• Focus on language - verbal and non-verbal and how they interact with the brain

• We can change our “representations” of how we see the world.

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KBT = Cognitive behavior therapy

• Knowledge

• Attitudes

• Behavior

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Competence =

Knowledge

Attitudes

Behavior

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• The importance of a supportive environment.

• Positive acceptance and judgment

• The answers are within each individual

• The individual can influence his future and take responsibility

• See and build upon strengths and potential

Humanistic psychology

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• Authoritarian

• Authoritative

• Representative democracy

• Consensus

• Laissez-faire

Leadership models

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Leadership: Get the right balance

• Hard and soft

• Tough love

• Roots and wings

• Love and structure

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Direction models• Rules and regulations

• Budgets

• Relationships

• Goals - objectives

• Values

• Traditions

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The 80/20 principle

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The theory of strengths

• Marcus Buckingham, Donald Clifton, The Gallup Institute

• Book: First, Break all the rules

• Question: Do you use your full strengths at work each day?

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20%

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Myths

• As we grow older our personality changes

• You grow by working on your weaknesses

• A good team member does everything and anything to help his/her team

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Truths

• As you grow older you become more of whom you already are

• You grow and develop by focusing on and utilizing your strengths

• A good team member contributes best by contributing his or her strengths

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The leader’s challengeSee to it that as many people as possible as often as

possible follow their passions and do what they do best

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Examples • Police (NYC), Teachers, Pharmacists,

Doctors

• Personal examples: School principal, Gardening, Politics

• What’s your 20% that gives you 80% of your results?

• “Only send people to training courses within their areas of strengths - for there is their likeliest area of development.”

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Traditional and nontraditional strenghts• Sports

• Entertainment

• Reading-Writing

• Arithmatic

• Memory

• Analysis

• Room lighter

• Wower

• Fixer

• “We-er”

• Planer

• Translator

• Etc.26

Insights today?

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Thank you! Tack!www.steinberg.se

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