Leading the way with psychology

With this in mind, it's no surprise that organisations are investing more time and money into developing their leaders, with psychology leading the way in applying psychological principles to develop successful leaders.

Psychologists use an extensive evidence base to develop, build on and enhance those principles by which leaders can become psychologically-informed, thereby gaining a stronger focus on understanding individuals and how they fit into an organisation's system.

Psychologically-informed leadership rests on the principle that understanding and enhancing human behaviour is the key to all leadership, and by applying this, allows leaders to effect change at behavioural, procedural and structural levels.

When leaders base their actions from their understanding of how individuals, teams and organisational structures function, inclusive of the change process, they can take responsibility for their role in making sure it's in a positive direction.

When developing our 'inclusive leadership' course for the BPS, with psychologically-informed principles at its heart, we were keen to make sure that we did not just focus on developing leadership traits and skills, as is often the case with more traditional leadership courses.

We focused on a leader's understanding of the system in which they operate, and the importance of developing a collective leadership that impacts positively on the organisation's culture, thereby strengthening individuals' leadership skills and abilities.

To make this happen, it's vital to focus not just on a person's current role, but on their futures, which is why our course is appropriate for staff of any level within an organisation.

We know that everyone has leadership skills that can add value across projects, teams, divisions and at very senior levels within organisations; leaders exist at every level in organisations and would benefit from knowing how best to hone these skills.

Our inclusive leadership course is available now on BPS Learn