The Psychology of Leadership summary

One of the most important functions of any leader is setting goals: for themselves, their organizations, and the individuals they lead. Identifying and setting the right goals can make or break your leadership, and your organization. Set goals that are too easy, and motivation slumps, teams go unchallenged, and morale suffers. Set goals that are too far out of reach, on the other hand, morale tanks, and teams burn out.

Consider the goal John F. Kennedy publicly declared back in 1962 to send Americans to the moon by the end of the decade. This goal was so significant and historically influential because it was both highly ambitious and measurable – there was a clear objective, as well as a set timeline for the action.

Redefining the relationship between happiness and success, and understanding the importance of goals, is just the start of the insights that the psychology of happiness lends to leadership. Another critical revelation concerns the importance of winning – not as a destination, but an active and ongoing journey.

It’s time to redefine what it means to win. This is quite common for sports psychologists, who deal with the reality, rather than the fantasy, of a career in sports. Consider the statistics: a top professional tennis player, for instance, might win just 55 percent of the games they play, and around 80 percent of their matches. That means that even a champion tennis player will lose almost as many points as they win over the course of their career.

Relationships play a critical role for any leader, and this importance extends far beyond the workplace. There are plenty of stories in the news about successful corporate leaders who burned professional bridges, or sacrificed marriages and parenting in the pursuit of their accomplishments. While acclaim can feel good to the ego, research confirms that sacrificing supportive relationships to get it often results in far less happiness for everyone.

Positive relationships are the strongest predictor of both happiness and performance. Page emphasizes that relationships, as highlighted in the PERMA model, are a cornerstone of long-term happiness and success. That’s why, as a leader, you’ll likely spend more time nurturing people than on any other task. This isn’t a detour from your goals; it’s the fastest route to them.

Meaning, as one of the five dimensions of happiness, is directly related to core values, beliefs, and ethics. They motivate your actions, and set your priorities. Yet many become leaders without ever questioning what they believe, or uncovering the guiding principles that make things meaningful for them.

Without a clear idea of what is meaningful to you as a leader, you can’t communicate meaning to anyone else, especially those you lead. Worse, without consistency and transparency in your ethics, trust falters, engagement suffers, and accomplishments hold less value. As Page notes, meaning is a deeply personal dimension of happiness, yet it plays a critical role in creating shared purpose within teams.