Leadership that Develops other People: An Empirical Study into the Effect of Humanist Principles and Therapeutic Common Factors on Subordinate Development

Abstract

Although the development of others has been a recognised leadership activity since antiquity, there appears to be a dearth of literature specifically addressing the components of leadership that result in the greatest personal growth for others. This paper develops some tentative principles of subordinate development based on ideals of humanist, and transformational, leadership which appear to share common ground with psychotherapeutic theory and findings from ‘common factors’ research. These principles are then examined by original analysis of data (N = 103) captured as part of a wide-ranging study into leadership in the Royal Navy (RN). The results highlight: belief in the potential of others, the associated move from ‘own-authority’ to ‘others'-responsibility’, empowerment, and caring as being the basis of effective Subordinate Development. These findings are then situated within the broader social change literature as support for the assertion that ‘individualised consideration’ and ‘other-centeredness’ are a basis for successful human relations and growth, regardless of the field of endeavour.