During the recent National Psychology Week , Guidelight Psychology Founder, Peter Doyle appreciated the opportunity to discuss powerful ways to develop effective leaders. He was invited to be one of three experts in a panel who collectively shared nearly a century of experience in delivering transformational leadership services to people within the context of their workplaces.

Some of the significant themes that resonated with the roughly 100 delegates from diverse industry, government and consulting backgrounds, was the importance of a leader being able to embody the dimensions of leadership that positively influence other people who identify with them. It is clear that in the age of rapid internet information spread and increasing levels of formal tertiary education across our workforce, the ability of a leader to possess advanced technical knowledge or key theoretical/academic knowledge is no longer that exclusive. Most well-read professionals can choose to source that informational knowledge directly for themselves as required.

However, a leader who can embody ways to nurture the human spirit, for example, becomes a powerful person of influence.

A leader who can hold the space, for their workplace companions to grow and learn despite organisational upheavals and financial challenges that ebb and flow, becomes a powerful person of influence. Such an effective leader hold the space for the best aspects of the team to emerge through embodying loving kindness, compassion and courage as a workplace culture and practice.

It was exciting to discuss with conference delegates the very real and substantive ways that these advanced leadership attributes can be learnt and expanded through targeted personal and executive coaching sessions, coupled with real time shadowing in the workplace.