Hardwired Humans

Successful Leadership Using Human Instincts

Andrew O’Keeffe

Important points:
Instinct 1 ● Teams have a natural size (7 +/-2)
Social ● Work teams become as if family (p10)
Belonging ● Newcomers affect the team’s dynamics
● We gain our identify as a member of a small group
● The team leader has a critical role:
○ set vision so team has context
○ Connect group to rest of organisation - see value
○ Be an advocate for team
○ Provide appropriate resources
○ Defend team against unreasonable demands
○ Set goals so people have clarity in role
○ Give feedback
○ Value contributions
○ Provide an environment where people can progress
○ Take care bringing new members into the team
○ Set standards of behaviour and performance
○ Hold account those who don’t meet these standards
○ Minimise rivalries, address conflict - ensure harmony

● Bosses are importance and have significant impact on people’s morale and input
● If we design our organisation according to human instincts we will harness natural
energy
● There is a second group that gives our sense of identify (clan) that comprises
around 150 people
● Leaders of the 150 set the culture and harmony of the clan. They need to:
○ Know the names of all their people
○ Know important things that define them as individuals
○ Know their role and knows leader values this role
○ Establish the direction, goals and purpose of clan
○ Create an environment where the managers pull together
○ Convene social functions so people have sense of community
○ Coach their first-level managers to address any behaviours which are
diminishing the community’s effort and interests

Reflection:
An interesting chapter about social structures! I particularly found the lists on page 16/17
(role of the leader) and 23/34 (implications for leaders) insightful.

In my own workplace, staff induction processes (or lack thereof) has become a bit of an
emerging issue. The sections on ‘Dynamics of a Newcomer’, as well as ‘Implication 5’,
made me reflect on current processes at my school and how these can be
improved/refined to integrate members quickly (and supportively) into the group.

Important points:
Instinct 2 ● Power is a natural dimension to life in a hierarchy
Hierarchy ● The challenge is for leaders to use power effectively (right amount)
and Status ● Hierarchy and status explains who keeps who waiting
● Any opportunities to progress in our social group are extremely motivating
● Positive implications of power:
 ○ Initiate ideas and be more direct in expression of ideas
○ Engage in group activity
○ Express approval and affection
○ Show more gestures and less facial construction
○ Display smiles of pleasure
○ Feel and display positive emotions

● Negative implications of power:

○ Taking what they want for themselves
○ Treat any situation or person as means of satisfying own needs
○ Talk more, speak out of turn, interrupt more
○ Ignore what others say and want
○ Ignore how less powerful people react to their behaviour
○ Act rudely and be more aggressive
○ Enter the social space of others
○ Tease and be more aggressive in their teasing
○ Stereotype others

● Organisations with good cultures implement systems to constrain inappropriate

use of power by managers
● Problems arise when people with little interest in the people aspects of their job
are elevated to management
● First time leaders - hierarchy and status should give confidence that the team
wants them to lead
● People leadership tasks are vitally important (p 36/37)
● Overuse of power can drive compliance
● Underuse of power by the boss can drive confusion, ill-discipline and disharmony
(people are uncertain of the expectations and standards of the group)
● Use power in allocation of resources wisely
● Anti-social behaviour is corrected in an orderly fashion
● Regular review meetings - hold these frequently
● As a leader, be aware of your natural tendency to focus on only one line of
reporting - balanced member
● Managing up/managing down (p41)
● Managing up - erodes loyalty of the people but does mean leader is well
connected with people in power)
● Managing down - Appreciated by those being led but may be seen as difficult by
people in power

Reflection:
I particularly responded to the part about being a first time leader. This had me
considering what my first steps would need to be if/when I move into a Principalship. Role
clarity for the team would need to be high on the agenda, as well as articulating clear
expectations and vision. Working with the team to set goals would also be highly
prioritised so that the team is driving to the same standards.

Important points:
Instinct 3 ● People jump to conclusions - we process info based on emotions
Emotions ● The conclusions we jump to will be overwhelmingly negative - assume the worst
Before ● Humans are primarily emotional
● The best leaders are acutely aware of the primacy of emotions and consciously
Reason
use the role of emotions in the way they operate and how they relate to and seek
to influence others.
● Imprint occurs on the first occasion we experience a person, a word, an activity or
place - we create meaning
● Leaders - your people’s view about you is emotional and based on the meaning
they have attached to you
 ● Emotions - how we make sense of the world and make decisions
● Decision making connected inextricably to emotions
● Our boss has a significant impact on our energy and output
● Predictable pattern of how people process daily events
○ 1. People perceive the meaning of the event
○ 2. People make sense of the event based on how it makes them feel
○ 3. If the emotion is positive, then motivation is lifted but if the emotional
reaction is negative, then motivation is reduced
○ 4. Motivation affects performance outcomes - productivity, creativity,
collegiality and commitment to work
○ This is the perception - emotion - motivation - output cycle

● Any manager is capable of being an enabling manager - just need to help people
move forward in their work
● To enable people to make progress in their work, the leader needs to:
○ Set clear goals (what is expected and why it matters)
○ Provide adequate resources and time for people to do their job
○ Remove barriers that hinder people
○ Provide feedback from a learning perspective (not a blame perspective)
○ Give sincere appreciation for the work people do well

P 54
● Our brains are wired to process emotions before reason
● The meaning we attach to our world is emotional
● People’s opinion about their boss and their organisation is based on emotion and
is rarely neutral
● At times of positive motivation, people have higher outputs and creativity

● What five words would you like people to say about you in a conversation? **
● Enable people to move forward in their daily work - the most enabling behaviour is
to set clear goals and clear purpose for the person’s work
● When people have clarity around what is expected of them and how their tasks fit
into the purpose of the organisation, they feel energised and motivated and their
performance is enhanced.

● When we seek agreement with someone, its handy to know that the other person’s
agreement or disagreement is emotional. If they disagree - they won’t change
their mind and agree with us unless we can shift the emotion they are associating
with our argument.

Reflection:
I keep resonating on the questions posed in this chapter: what five words would you like
people to say about you in a conversation? This question is worth considering:

● I am responsive to their concerns abd I follow through on actions; INTEGRITY

● I am approachable because I listen; EMPATHY
● I am fair where possible; FIRM BUT FAIR
● I am knowledgeable about teaching and learning. KNOWLEDGEABLE
● WHAT WOULD MY LAST POINT BE?

Again this chapter reinforced for me the need to create a clear vision and expectations. It
also highlighted the need to develop strong, positive relationships of trust with staff so that
there is a sense of support (and therefore, motivation).

As I move forward on my leadership challenge - how can I embed some of these as I

implement a Visible Learning pedagogy? What can I adjust, tweak, implement - what do I
need to stop doing/take out?
 Important points:
Instinct 4 ● We make quick judgements to classify our experiences, people and situations
First ● Classifications are either/or categories (eg. good/bad most prevalent)
Impressions ● One way to use the knowledge that people are trying to make sense through
classifying is to be explicit in the way we position things. Eg. I’d like to update you
to Classify
on a good thing that happened OR There's one item on the project that we need to
fix
● Our gut feeling or powers of intuition are part of impressions to classify
● Classification i done primarily on the emotions we feel at that screening moment
● The first experience becomes the ‘imprinting experience’ and if the second is
positive, then the imprint is consolidated
● 60 seconds is about the time we need to make an accurate first impression
● Once we have made up our minds, we look for evidence to support this first
impression - once we classify we are unlikely to change our minds
● Our first impressions affect our interactions and communications with a person
● Once we make up our minds about someone or something, it takes an awful lot to
shift our opinion
● The more resourceful approach is to use this knowledge to make informed choices
in the way we interact with people, especially as a leader

● Our capacity is to process 7 +- 2 pieces of information - absolute judgement

● The span of immediate memory is only around 7elements
● You have two seconds (or 7 words) to influence the classification of your idea
● There is also the impact of body language and face reading that plays a part as
well - Instinct 7)

The Power of the First Seven Words:

1. Specific - your first fre words and not generic and are specific to the situation
2. Plain language - so your point is easily processed by your listener
3. Truthful - so that you are ethical, your words are congruent with your feelings, you
are believable and considered trustworthy
4. Single concept - as more than one concept is likely to confuse your listener
5. Emotional - you trigger the appropriate emotion for the moment
6. No jargon - the listener might attach a different meaning to any terminology
7. The narrative - provides a theme for your ongoing discussion or proposition

● Another form of classifying - them and us

● Ensure that our first update with a client/sponsor/stakeholder is positive
● The person who speaks first about an issue is believed
● Sensible leadership choices
● Eg “I’m sorry to let you know you’ve been unsuccessful”, “I have some news that
might disappoint you” - put yourself in the other person’s shoes and then explain
the detail

● The feedback sandwich (positive-negative-positive) defies human nature

● The better approach is to be clear in the first seven words - reduces the tension
● Example p83 – feedback conversation “Sam, we need to cover/review our team’s
protocols
● Giving negative feedback - remove the negative emotion
● Establish an early classification of the mind of the received that the feedback when
given is coming from a helpful orientation
● The feedback was given easily and received as a learning benefit based ona prior
classification set up three months earlier p 85
● New team members - induction and meet/greet p 87
● Consciously monitor emotional reactions and initial impressions - usupend
judgement until a more comprehensive analysis has been completed
 Reflection:
This chapter really had me thinking about a couple things in relation to career progression.
Firstly, should I be fortunate to gain another interview for Principalship then what could my
first 7 words be to the interview panel?!?
Secondly, when I secure a Principal position, what can my first 7 words be with staff? With
the school leadership team? With admin? With families? With the children at the school?
There is so much in this chapter that really struck a chord.

Interview:
First staff meeting:

Important points:
Instinct 5 ● The avoidance of loss is a far greater motivator to humans than the opportunity to
Loss gain
Aversion ● Humans are happy with change provided the change meets one criterion - that is
does not involve loss
● If we detect gain, we support the change. If we detect loss, we resist. If we are
uncertain, the default is to assume loss
● Realising that we are not hardwired to resist change opens up breakthrough
opportunities for organisations to better manage change
● Don’t blame resistant to change on staff, blame the careless management of the
change
● Your team members respond to change based on how it affects them personally.
● If you are a manager of individuals losing from a change, the most resourceful
approach is to acknowledge the loss. Help the person classify the change as
indeed a loss. Concealing or seeking to diminish the loss only erodes trust.
● Similarly, a leader can lose the trust and goodwill of their people if they overstate
good news or understate bad news
● Don’t avoid pointing out the valid negative - the person might miss a learning
opportunity
● The appraisal process at least drives a discussion between the manager and their
staff so that each person received individual attention
● The assessment of loss is at the individual level

● We expect our leaders to watch for and respond to changes in the environment
and to lead us and our community to a better place

● P 105 Management team identified a number of things that people would be most
concerned about. Use this to formulate communication plan
● People are not resistant to change but are guarding against loss or potential loss
● Plan and communicate a change at the individual level
● When change involves actual loss for individuals then leaders are best to explain
the change so that affected people can classify the effects as loss. People will
appreciate your candour and will trust you.
● Effective leaders establish an environment where people feel safe and secure.
● Humans do amazing things and deliver beyond expectations when they feel
confident and much of that confidence comes from a feeling of being held in high
regard by their leaders and within their intimate social group
● Safe environment -
○ 1. physical and mental safety.
○ 2 Safety in the context of the team’s direction and performance and the
standards of behaviour expected.
○ 3. Clarity around what is expected from each person, achieved by personal
goals linked to the team’s goals
○ 4. The leader’s behaviours needs to be consistent so that people don’t
have to guess what mood you are in and how you will decide things.
 ● Reviews
○ How you conduct the review impacts on your relationship with the staff
member.”I’ve been thinking about things that might help you…”
○ Be prepared to provide staff members with helpful information/feedback to
help them grow
○ Ask them to provide areas that they are:
■ a) proud of
■ b) that they could develop
■ They might well identify what you want them to which allows you to
be in a position of agreement rather than judgement

● Performance reviews when done well provide the opportunity to cover topics that
people want to discuss. The most important ones:
○ What did I do well this last year?
○ What did I not do well and can learn from?
○ How did I develop last year and what should my development plans be for
this coming year?
○ What are my personal growth and career opportunities and how do I best
get ready for them?

● Understanding the respond to feedback

○ People respond emotionally
○ 4 responses:
■ Withdrawal (avoiding the danger or escaping from it)
■ Immobility (freezing)
■ Defensive aggressive (appearing to be dangers or fighting back)
■ Submission (appeasement)

● We predominantly process information to make sense of the world through our

emotional radars in order to classify information
● A key way we use language - central to manage management

Reflections:
This had me thinking about Annual Review Meetings and how to approach these in the
future. At the moment, Emily facilitates these at school but I considered how I can use
something similar to set up professional learning goals (to then link to ARMS).
As we move towards using Brightpath for Writing and also considering a Structured
Literacy approach for English, there are many things that can be considered in order to
increase the success of the initiatives (and to reduce the likelihood of change resistance).
For Brightpath, we are going to trial this in small pockets of the school with teachers who
are interested and keen to trial the process. Next term, I will need to consider how I can
structure this so it's supportive of staff implementing and then use their feedback and
experiences to drive change across the school (if, that is, it turns out to be a viable
option).

Important points:
Instinct 6 ● We gossip to gather and share information
Gossip ● The second is to form and maintain alliances
● Gossip ‘lubricates’ friendships. To create and service relationships, to establish
reciprocity, to work out who we can trust, who we need to be careful of and
navigate the delicate politics in a community
● Gossip helps to form coalitions in our group
● 66% of our conversations are of a chitchat nature
● The average person s[emds 20% of their day grooming
● Gossip does not have to be negative. Leaders can use this constructively by
creating the news themselves
● P115 - Idea for creating positive gossip
● Another positive use of gossip is to influence what people talk about and what
spreads through the informal channels
● Stories convey meaning - they are fundamental to the way we learn and the way
we convey information

● Stories are memorable and they achieve that outcomes because they contain
emotion
● Stories work because they are concrete and can reveal what’s actually happening
● Stories form part of our identity
● In modern organisations there is a widely held view that we should be dealing with
facts in a rational way, and we diminish, ignore or reject the value of stories to
convey meaning
● A good story
○ Has a time and place marker
○ Is specific - the story explains and event that allows the listener to picture
the event in their mind
○ Involves characters - we can picture the people involves
○ Resonates and the emotion of the story helps us remember it
○ Is plausible and if the story purports to be true it must be true

● The challenge is how to use the instinct for gossip thoughtfully and deliberately
● What do you want people to say afterwards?
● What you do and what you say will significantly influence what the person says,
which is a reflection of how they feel
● Given our powers of intuition, people don’t need lots of information to make a
usually accurate assessment of a leader’s relationships
● Factions or cliques in a team are first and foremost caused by a manager showing
favouritism to one or a few team members
● In meetings there will be a consistent patterns of who supports whom with allies
always endorsing each other’s ideas and suggestions
● A leader needs to invest in connecting with their people in order to build loyalty
● Reciprocity - need for one-on-ones with leader and their people

● Networking is an important activity for any human group and organisations are no
different
● Managers tend to have more gossip connections than individual contributors

● Provide social settings to allow chit-chat - it does not need to be malicious.

● The social discussion will be as significant to the functioning of the team as the
formal planning sessions that preceded it

● The grapevine is a reliable source that reveals how people are thinking and feeling
- it's worth monitoring and tapping into. This can be done informally (if people are
willing to share with you) or formally (by asking someone to tap into what people
are talking about p129)

● The words people use reflect the leadership style of their manager and the
emotion associated with their leader. What do you want the story of your
leadership to be?
● What five things do you want your people to say when their friends and family ask
them “what’s it like working for [name]?” What five things do you want them to say
when they are asked “what's the team like that you work in?”
● Then need to live those sentiments and insist on those behaviours of the team by
managing any exceptions
● What few words do we want other people in the company to say about us? Live
those values (p 133)
 ● Our communication is enhanced if we incorporate stories into how we explain our
opinions and requests
● Stories provide meaning that's not available if we communicate by fact alone

● Managing change is a good time to think about the gossip test

● Anticipate what people will say, and what you want them to say, will help you
manage the change effectively

Reflections:
Again, this chapter had some good information and suggestions particularly when
establishing a new school culture (if/when I become a principal). The highlighted section
above was particularly useful.
As a leader, I’ve always been particularly frustrated with gossip and behind-back
conversations. I love how this reframes them so they can actually be helpful.
The story part also had me considering my current application (key selection criteria)
process. How can I incorporate a story rather than writing clinically? How can I make this
come across personable?
Again, still contemplating those 7 words for starting off an interview!!!!

Important points: Empathy

Instinct 7 ● Know and appreciate each person as an individual
Empathy & ● Be attuned to other people’s needs; listen to and respect their needs, wants
Mind desires and dreams
● I am a stepping stone for their career and life journey
Reading
● Theory of mind and sense of self
● If leaders have high expectations of their people then team members will”
○ 1. Perform higher (and vice verse if low expectations)
○ 2. Enjoy more work
○ 3. Think more highly of the leader - independent of the leader’s actual
leadership ability!

● Contain the inclination to relate better and have a greater regard for some team
members than others (it will lift the performance of the regarded but diminish the
performance of the others)
● Have confidence in each and every team member
● To know someone well we would need to know about their family or personal
relationships (central role of the family)
● Need to understand the basics of a person’s identity so not inhibited as leader
● Individuals need to tell you on their own terms and in their own terms, the extend
that they want to share

● Leaders can expect a fair degree of self-interest in the behaviour and decisions of
others, and of course their own. What is critical is that this behaviour is contained
so that individual self-interest does not diminish the group’s interests
● There is power in an apology
● The importance of an apology is the respect shown for the other’s identity

● Adjust your approach for each person - slight variations in how you deal with
things
● Manage to the person's strengths and accommodate their weaknesses
● We shaped each person’s role around their individual interests, with a positive
impact on performance and morale for individuals and the team

● Things you need to know about a person to know what makes that person who
they are:
○ 1. Their family or kin situation
○ 2. Where they were born and where they spent their formative years
 ○ 3. The key life experiences that shaped their sense of self
○ 4. Their personal and work achievements they are most proud of
○ Their dreams and aspirations
○ Their interests outside of work

● Relaxed dialogue that happens naturally in certain circumstances

● Advice: have scheduled regular individual meeting with your direct reports (regular
team meetings are a given) - they provide a platform for respecting and connecting
with individuals and for effective delegation

● Suggestions to cover in meeting to make them productive:

○ 1. Progress since last meeting
○ Identify and remove any roadblocks
○ Discuss ideas of new tasks and initiative to respond to emerging
opportunities/problems
○ Share any development/feedback observations
○ Check if other person needs any support or assistance from you
○ Note the action points for the next meeting

● By asking each person their opinion about a topic within their expertise, it
demonstrates as a leader you can learn from them and that they have worth
because of their unique experiences.
○ Give permission to ask questions, to challenge things and to express
opinions.
● People feel valued for their unique expertise

Important points: Mind Reading

● We use visual and facial cues for fitting into the workforce hierarchy
● Part of reading faces is to read the emotional state of people
● How we judge people affects the way we interact with them, which in turn affects
that person’s behaviour
● If you can genuinely switch from the task you're doing to concentrate on the
employee, then do so. If not, leave the conversation and make another time to
meet if the employee’s task can wait for a bit.
● Be congruent with feelings/emotions
● It is imperative that leaders are interested in others, that you do listen and that you
do care. This will be written all over a leader’s face
● We will serve people better, generally, if we reveal our emotions. If people are
uncertain they have to work harder at reading us and will have ambiguous
information they are struggling to make sense of.
● It is generally desirable for a leader to show enough emotion to enable another
person to read the leader accurately and for the person to have enough
information to know where they stand.
● Once we are conscious of instincts we can make more informed leadership
choices

Reflection:
As a leader in schools, scheduling time with people is important. At my current school,
time to meet as a leadership team (broadly with REL and LDL) is rare. I catch up ad hoc
with the Principal and this is usually because something props up. To be honest, this
frustrated me as I can see the value of time together - if anything, to ensure that we are all
working from the same page and we have congruence.

In moving forward, I can see some value with this in terms of working with Impact
Coaches in order to drive forward our Visible Learning journey (which in turn, addresses
my Brown Collective leadership challenge. Looking at structures will be an important part
of the process.
 Important points:
Instinct 8 ● Humans are wired to radiate confidence in order to move forward in the world.
Confidence ● We often allow confidence to conquer realism to get what we want. This can be so
Before strong that we often deny what is realistic
● In The workplace an individual will often have a higher opinion of their ability that
Realism
what others around them give them credit for
● People overestimate their own abilities
● Not only are we inclined to hold overly optimistic views about our own ability, but
we are more inclined to do so if we lack competence
● Sometimes we divert information from awareness because it is too painful or
stressful… more commonly we do so because the offending information
contradicts assumptions with which we are comfortable, and it is easier to reject
the information that to change our assumptions
● If only the manager looks and dealt with what they found

● Self confidence allows us to have a positive outlook and optimism about what is
possible
● A manager will tend to be less positive about their ability than they are about
themselves
● We require certain conditions in order to flourish - flourishing is associated with
goodness, growth and resilience

● As a leader, ensure that

○ 1. Your personal interactions and language is in the range of between 3:1
and 11:1 (positive:negative)
○ 2. Interactions between team members is in the same range

● We do our best work and the team is most successful when we can meet our
instinctive needs of being in an environment of optimism and positivity over
pessimism and negativity

● Optimism plays a key role in strategic planning

● Governance, quality, audit, reporting, human resource systems and IT capability
● To what extent am I overly confident and unrealistic about:
○ 1. The plans for our department and what’s possible
○ 2. What our clients want and our capacity to deliver
○ 3. Financial performance and risk management
○ 4. Key projects and timelines (including overloading people)
○ 5. What I expect with the resources I provide or are they available
○ 6. Our systems and processes - do I think they're better than they really are
○ 7. Each person’s ability and attitude
○ 8. My ability
○ 9. Relationships with my team
○ 10. Relationships with other teams that affect my team’s performance?

● Listen to people who disagree with you or have information contrary to what you
would prefer to hear
● What would constitute a disastic in my role? What would cause me to be moved
out of my role? Focus on these as priorities
● Leaders tend to favour simplistic solutions over time-consuming and complex ones
● Fads role through organisations - fads rely on hope and optimism rather than
effort and reality
● The real challenge is lifting the capability of leaders:
○ Are our managers effective people-leaders?
○ Do they have the right skills and training
○ Have we implemented systems so that managers feel accountable for staff
engagement?
 ● Managers at every level can be inclined to disregard the signs of people not
delivering (the leader tends to hope its not as bad as they are hearing or it will get
better)
● The leader needs to KNOW - they need to have access to information and to know
the reality.

● A call to action for the role of feedback and training, particularly for less competent
people on a leader’s team
○ 1. People less competent are blissfully unaware
○ 2. They need your feedback - let them know how they are performing, their
skill gaps and show them what competent performance looks like
○ 3. Provide the necessary skills training to enable them to become
competent

● The challenge of giving negative feedback and managing poor performers

○ People won’t agree with their manager’s negative observations
○ The manager is unlikely to get agreement - let this (mis)understanding go
and it can be a huge release of pressure for the manager
○ If they accept your view, it might mean that they have to alter their sense of
who they are/sense of self
○ YOU DON”T NEED THEIR AGREEMENT
○ Seeking agreement is ideal but often not realistic

● The most resourceful approach is to present the person with a choice

● The choice is for the employee to hopefully amend their behaviour so that team
interactions are positive
● If the person doesn’t make that choice, or they say they’ll make that choice but
subsequent actions show they haven’t, then the manager retains the right to make
a choice themselves.

● The remedy to overestimating competence and abilities:

○ Take assessments comparing your abilities
○ Run surveys to assess the level of engagement of your direct reports
○ Gain feedback from competent leaders
○ Take training to increase your competence

● You need to be a long-term optimist and a short-term realist

Reflection:
When reading this chapter, I found myself considering a particular individual that is on
staff at my school. Often, this person frustrates leadership (and other teachers) due to
lack of classroom control and inability to engage students in learning. This chapter gave
me ideas on how to work with this person in order to develop competence (as this
individual does not currently see there is a problem with this part of their practice).

This chapter also got me wondering what my own self-perception is. Do I think I am more
competent than what I am? Do I lack skills and abilities in my position that I am oblivious
to? In completing further study (e.g. training) I am developing a stronger self-awareness.

This chapter also gave me an opportunity to consider past traumatic events from my
previous workplace, and a deeper understanding of how/why these events occurred.

Moving forward, as a leader, establishing strong lines of communication are important so

that feedback is provided… staff don’t seem comfortable in this space. Is this because
they lack confidence in giving the feedback or is it an indicator that they don’t feel
comfortable giving to leadership?
 Important points:
Instinct 9 ● Displays of affluence and superiority by some can produce feelings of shame and
Contest and inferiority in others
Display ● Males are preoccupied with dominating the hierarchy and focus on those displays
that support status progression
● With women, social standing is more related to inclusion
● In humans, power is expressed through specific body language. Expansive, open
postures project high power whereas constricted, closed postures project low
power.
● There will be a tendency for an elite group to emerge
● You can only become a second class citizen if you concede this view in your own
mind, or if you concede power and status to another group
● Control your reaction and influence your team’s reaction
● If you are the head (eg CEO) you can certainly influence the culture of the
organisation and insist that colleagues don’t treat others as first or second class
citizens. You own actions will demonstrate this to be the case.
● A team leader has the greatest impact on the level of acceptance and prestige that
people experience in their team. Every team members should feel that they are
playing a significant role
● Managers need to lead with an egalitarian stype to help ensure social equity:
○ Value the job of all staff irrespective of their function or level
○ Give people significant control over their work
○ Avoids differentiation through benefits, conditions of employment and
badges of office
○ Value social events and opportunities to interact with staff
○ Be friendly and and approachable
○ Distribute resources equitably
○ Ensure that people are valued in the eyes of others
○ Pay well with no extreme different between the highest and lowest ranked
members

● Social inequality establishes conditions for distrust, poor staff collegiality and poor
health/wellbeing
● Meetings are not just for communication and decision making - part of their
purpose is display
● Leaders at every level should use meetings to their advantage - they are subtle but
important rituals.
● CONTEST AND DISPLAY
● Frustrations with the systems of work and lack of maintenance
● Contest and display can be pride
● Contest and display can be negative eg. underhanded way a new person might
(not always) deinfate the prior incumbent
● Being busy can also be a means of display
● Use of emails:
○ Social belonging
○ Gossip - the sharing of social chitchat
○ Hierarchy
○ Empathy and mind reading
○ Emotions before reason (eg carelessly worded emails or perhaps
deliberately worded to cause insult of hurt)
○ Social standing - to let people know of your achievements
○ Loss aversion - covering your backside

● Job titles codify what we suspect to be the case and seek to ensure fairness
● If you are a department manager, announce promotions to your department. Be
sure to acknowledge the reasons for the person’s elevation.
● High Power stances - increase testosterone and decrease cortisol.
 ● Managers need to display appropriate power in order to carry the required
influence in our role. It’s a fine balance

Reflection:
This chapter had me thinking about my coaching conversation with Sam. As part of our
conversation, I spoke about the lack of clear, decisive leadership on staff (primarily last
year). Decision making was also brought to the whole group and went around and around
- this was frustrating because there never seemed to be any traction on projects because
the consultation stage (whilst important) was over-exaggerated.

I think that current strategies and structures we have in place this year have addressed
many of these issues. Staff have been looking for more clear, defined and decisive
leadership on staff. I am enjoying watching Emily’s leadership style unfold as she moves
from an interim/caretaker Principal role into a position where she has more power and
leverage. She manages to lead with a delicate power balance that is discussed in this
chapter.

I am so thankful to have been gifted this book by the Brown Collective. This is one of the
Overall most practical, insightful leadership books that I have read. Whilst so much of it was
Summary common sense, it was great to have a chance to read this and reflect on past or current
practices that I have seen/witnessed or even been part of in schools.

I have taken many points from this book and am currently considering how these apply to
my current context and what they could mean as I aspire to move into Principalship.

Moving forward, our Peer Syndicate has decided to read and review this book as part of
our connections. I look forward to delving into things a little deeper with Louise, Lisa and
Hayley and being able to listen to their insights and interpretations of key messages from
the book.