Eupsychian Versus Authoritarian Leadership: Existential–Humanistic Underpinnings and Empirical Support

Abstract

This article surveys Maslow’s views on eupsychian leadership and how his vision of eupsychia may be regarded as a contemporary expression of the Greek philosophical notion of the Good. This involves actively and ongoingly cultivating cultural conditions that promote awe-based creative living in accordance with human nature, authentic freedom, and social justice in the interest of developing character via self-determination. Then we outline essential qualities of Maslow’s notion of eupsychia as they have been empirically validated by Rego et al.’s qualitative study of the characteristics and outcomes of eupsychian (humanistic) versus antieupsychian (authoritarian) leadership. The findings thereof also provide a heuristic framework for integrating the results of numerous quantitatively-based research studies in recent international applied psychology literature. This applied leadership literature both (a) satisfies Maslow’s call for empirical research to guide perspective-taking and decision-making when considering the possible practical implementation of a eupsychian society and (b) provides empirical support for his dynamic systemic and synergistic theorizing on leadership.