Psychology and Leadership: A Framework for Leading Effectively

When serving as an organizational leader or coach, which conceptual frameworks do you reference when seeking to effectively influence and lead others? Professor Allan Filipowicz, Cornell’s Psychology of Leadership faculty author, asserts that highly effective leaders must find the time to contemplate strategies for the following themes embedded within the Psychology of Leadership Framework as a means of harmoniously attaining common organizational goals:

1. The Psychology of Getting Things Done
2. Identifying and Managing Emotions
3. Interpreting the Behavior of Others
4. Mastering the Art of Influence
5. Applying Strategic Influence
6. Designing Effective Team Structures

The Psychology of Getting Things Done

The Psychology of Leadership Framework is an ever evolving process by which leaders strive to emphasize and model the importance of collectively outlining process and outcome goals for every project in order to get things done. According to Filipowicz, most individuals have grown comfortable determining their outcome goals and neglect establishing process goals. Process goals are quick measures of the efforts that help to achieve the outcome goal and provide teams with ample time to correct problems that might arise before reaching the outcome goal.

To illustrate, let’s use the example of an individual determined to lose some weight. The outcome goal would be the specific weight that the person intends to achieve after a determined time whereas the process goals would include the daily check-list with the measurable goals needed to attain the outcome weight. For instance, how many days is the person exercising? How long is each fitness session? Are there changes made to the person’s diet as well? Addressing all of these questions would be in direct alignment with process goals that can be measured. Further food for thought includes reflecting on making sure individually and as a team that you are devoting enough time and resources to that important goal. Ultimately, process goals allow individuals to make that distinction and to evaluate how to make choices that will get one closer to reaching their outcome goal.

All in all, transformational leaders understand the benefits of including process goals with outcome goals for themselves or their team members. Effective coaches also check that their teams’ goals are specific and challenging. Hence, Filipowicz explains that setting ambitious goals will often yield higher performance results.

The eCornell Psychology of Leadership certificate course describes the aforementioned notion as, “Internally, you should over promise to under deliver.” Think about this, if you continue to set very aggressive goals and do not reach them, your performance will be better than if you only set conservative goals that you could have reached easily. Soon, what follows is a shift from transactional or evaluative leadership to a growth mindset as individuals are now focused on the learning during the process of attaining their desired outcomes.

Additional questions to ponder and pose within the psychology of getting things done include:

1. Do your goals match your environment?
2. What are you doing to track progress towards achievement?
3. Are you willing to celebrate the small wins with your team along the way?
4. Have you aligned your network by surrounding yourself with other like-minded individuals?
5. Have you evaluated whether your team increases or decreases their efforts when faced with setbacks?
6. How will you manage and reduce the risk of personal and organizational members’ burnout?

Applying Leadership Principles

1. What are your most important six-month personal and professional goals?
2. List three process goals for each personal and professional outcome goal…
3. What tool(s) can you use from the vast self-monitoring industry that uses technology to facilitate goal achievement?