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Daedelus Trust and the BPS
Leadership: stress and hubris Why do some leaders, from all walks of life, succumb to hubris – arrogance, overweening pride and contempt for others? These questions were the focus of ‘Leadership: stress and hubris’, a conference organised by the Daedalus Trust in conjunction with the British Psychological Society at the Royal Society of Medicine in London in November 2014. Delegates heard about the psychological and biological effects of stress in triggering hubristic behaviour in leaders and possible ways to check its malign effects. Joy Ogden reports.
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eaders, whether Prime Ministers or primary school headteachers, exert power over everyone’s lives. Charisma, self-confidence and the ability to inspire are regarded as important assets in leaders. However, these can become exaggerated and lead to hubristic behaviour – refusal to heed advice and recklessness – and disastrous leadership. What can be done to accentuate the positive and curb the negative effects of power and stress on leadership? Cognitive biases and public policy Bankers stood accused of widespread hubris when Northern Rock’s collapse triggered the start of ‘The Great Recession’ in 2007, said Andrew Haldane, Chief Economist at the Bank of England. He described the bank’s revolutionar y change from an agent of government to one with operational independence in setting monetary macro- and microprudential policy, and outlined the four cognitive biases (preference, myopia, hubris and group-think) most likely to affect central bank’s decision making. He linked them to the checks and balances designed to counteract biases in the re-formed bank. Parliament sets the bank’s new policy frameworks on society’s behalf and the bank must answer to parliament. Three committees make decisions collectively and hold joint meetings; all committee members are accountable in 14
parliament and all votes are published, as safeguards against the group-think bias, said Mr Haldane. The bank has decided actively to encourage publication of research which challenges existing bank policy decisions, as one bulwark against the biases, he concluded. ‘Toe-holders’ and time limits Lord David Owen, Clinical Neurologist, former Minister of Health and Foreign Secretary and founder of the Daedalus Trust, outlined his ‘Hubris Syndrome’ hypothesis. He defined it as a personality change in people who exert power, not a personality disorder. And his new Private Member’s Bill to limit a Prime Minister’s tenure of office to two parliamentary terms, is his strategy to manage political hubris. He also wants a law for fixed-term examination of chief executives with an external adviser and board members. Lord Owen pointed to successful politicians, such as Roosevelt and Churchill, held back from hubris by ‘toe-holders’ – people trusted and encouraged to be independent critics of their performance. He also recommended mentors, working with the person to hold them back. Influential partnerships: a role for a modern-day court jester? Gillian Hyde, Chief Psychologist at Psychological Consultancy Ltd, described the critic’s role in terms of a ‘court jester’.
Progress in Neurology and Psychiatry January/February 2015
The more powerful the leader, the less they ask for feedback, or admit mistakes, and the less willing are employees to risk criticising their boss, she said. To be successful, ‘court jesters’ must have an ear to the ground and must be: trusted by the leader; not competing for power or resources; sensitive to the leader’s impact on others; and protected. Helping leaders to create sustainable influential partnerships would help to curb hubris, she said. Dysfunctional leadership Dennis Tourish, Professor of Leadership and Organisation Studies at Royal Holloway, University of London, also called for criticism. We promote the idea of transformational leaders, and the more we invest in that the more likely it is they will be surrounded by uncritical sycophants and become hubristic, he said. He concluded: ‘We need a different model of leadership – to recognise that leaders don’t have all the answers.’ Mental traps linked with hubris Jo Silvester, Professor of Organisational Psychology at the Cass Business School, pointed to research showing that, while power might be positive, feeling you don’t have it can be negative: those feeling more powerful were more likely to delegate; those feeling less so were more likely to direct their team. www.progressnp.com