Have you ever worked with someone who had an unassailable sense of self-confidence and could positively shape the perceptions others had of them and their achievements? Leaders with higher Promoter personality traits are the ‘Rockstars’ of the business world. They stand out as leaders because they’re incredibly confident stepping into bright spotlights and stepping up to big challenges, and they inspire others to do the same.
Charisma has been studied as a leadership attribute for decades. In 1947, German sociologist Max Weber defined charisma as a “gift” that leads a person to be “treated as a leader” based on their perceived “supernatural, superhuman, or at least specifically exceptional powers or qualities” that are “not accessible to the ordinary person.” Multiple studies, including research from Alex Stanmore published in Harvard Business Review, revealed the ability of charismatic leaders to connect and compel, influencing others with fluid speaking styles, symbolic behaviours, and storytelling about bold decisions.
And with any personality trait, more isn’t necessarily better because context matters. Often, businesses need leaders who can check their ego, steer from the rear, and put others in the spotlight. Leaders with lower Promoter traits are the ‘Supporters’ who park their ego at the door and focus on servicing and supporting the group with no need for adulation. They are the personification of Jack Welch’s concept of ‘Servant Leadership’ – leaders who are driven to achieve the outcome not because of ego but because of their commitment to others.
Promoter personality traits are anchored in two things: ego focus, ranging from recognition of self to recognition of others, and action drivers, ranging from perception to facts. The psychology underpinning the Promoter leader is linked to Narcissism, which originates from the Greek myth of Narcissus, who fell in love with his own reflection, and is grounded in the concept of individuality, uniqueness, and differences between people. Leaders with high Promoter attributes are the ‘Righteous Rockstars’ who thrive in the spotlight and are driven by people’s perceptions of them. Whereas leaders with low Promoter attributes are the ‘Selfless Supporters’ who turn the spotlight on others and whose decisions are driven by facts.
Unpacking the Performance Personality of ‘The Righteous Rockstar’
Having high Promoter traits does not mean a leader lacks emotion or care for people, but their primary interest in relationships is how others perceive them. The Rockstar is characterized by bold statements, brave decisions, and self-promotion. Leaders with high Promoter traits are extremely good when the objective facts say the chances of winning are low, as they will confidently push through this and possibly achieve a positive outcome despite the odds. ‘Impossible’ is ‘I’m possible’ to a leader with extremely high Promoter traits. They are comfortable in situations others would find daunting or stressful, such as giving press releases, being the face of the company, the lead presenter, or simply ‘the leader’. They are comfortable in the spotlight associated with high-profile leadership roles and are likely to have lofty ambitions.
The big risk for the Rockstar is a tendency to over-promise and under-deliver. They struggle to avoid the temptation to take on a big target that may put themselves, their team, or their entire business at significant risk for the sake of improving their image. Their ego gives them a cape of confidence that seems impenetrable from the outside and is often fuelled by high levels of drive and a low tolerance for mediocrity - mostly in others. However, if they experience a threat to their ego, they may react strongly and attack the person, idea, or perceived source of the threat. These emotional outbursts may come out of the blue and appear to be ‘flying off the handle’, which can damage their personal brand when their ideas and outcomes are challenged, and there is a risk they may put others down to build themselves up. All of this highlights the importance of one key factor that contains the best and worst impulses of the Rockstar – modesty.
Their incredible self-belief allows them to behave as if they belong at the big table or on the large stage. When this self-belief is unchallenged, it can lower their team’s anxiety, as they may drink the Kool-Aid the leader is pouring. When the leader infuses the team with their passion and drive the team’s performance will lift as they worry less and focus on ambitious goals. However, this self-belief can lead to toxic behaviour if it is not well contained by the right virtues and motivations. Rockstar leaders need high levels of modesty and low levels of defensiveness, so they are open to feedback and don’t feel compelled to put others down to build themselves up. When these ‘winning combinations’ of personality and containment factors come together, the leader is likely to have an incredible impact on both people and business performance.
Their impact on the psychosocial safety of their team depends on how they manage their internal confidence and communication. The Rockstar naturally reduces anxiety through confidence and powerful persuasion - if the leader is supremely confident, then why should the team worry? They are also adept at removing ambiguity, as they see the world from their singular point of view, which reduces the number of variables and options to be considered. If a leader promotes the idea “I (we) know where we’re going, what we’re doing, and we will always win,” there is little or no ambiguity for those who choose to believe it. If belief is half the battle, the Rockstar and their team are well on their way to winning.
The biggest risk for the Rockstar leader is conformity. When their ideas are questioned and their ego is threatened, then confidence can turn into contempt for those who challenge their views. This decreases the likelihood of frank discussion and open debate within the team and with the leader, as people are fearful of retribution. It can also result in team members ‘handling’ the leader rather than engaging with them. By handling the leader and telling them how wonderful their ideas are, team energy gets misdirected to upwards management rather than working on business problems. If the team focuses on agreeing with the leader and complimenting everything they do, it can redirect energy and negatively impact productivity. Rockstar leaders must encourage their team to provide feedback and challenge them, so their ambitious goals are more likely to be realized and major risks to their reputation as a leader are reduced.
Unpacking the Performance Personality of ‘The Selfless Supporter’
Leaders with low levels of Promoter traits are excellent when they support a team to delivering real results. Their ego doesn’t drive their behaviour, self-view, or view of others. Rather, they operate with a focus on whether something should or shouldn’t happen, rather than how they will be perceived if it happens or not. While they tend to use language like “we”, “us”, and “our”, they’re not using it to manipulate or be persuasive; rather, it comes from a deeper place - their desire to be part of a group, tribe, or collective. Standing out and being in the spotlight is not the aim - they want to achieve results that have a measurable impact, and have the outcomes acknowledged as a team effort. They are the ‘Selfless Supporters’ who genuinely believe that teamwork makes the dream work.
However, in many situations, it is difficult to park all your ego and still exude authority. People will often look to leaders to provide direction and move to the front to be role models, message, and manage the journey. Most people want to see their leaders on the bridge, even if they’re more comfortable lending a hand in the engine room. Supporter leaders who can park their ego and allow their team to bask in the spotlight can be very effective, but there is a risk they abdicate some of the leadership roles their people need them to play.
The leader with lower Promoter traits has plenty of positive impacts on the psychosocial safety of their team. They lower conformity as they tend not to dominate the conversation or decision-making process of the team. They are likely to take a ‘steer from the rear’ approach to discussion, where the team is encouraged to debate the information at hand and make decisions as a group. If there is no grand authority to bow down to and the leader is part of the team making the decision, then the possibility of conformity is diminished and the probability of innovation increases. The leader’s authority is a shared resource amongst the team rather than something that is forced upon them, so there is no one for the team to ‘give in’ to.
The other key area they positively impact is decreasing ambiguity. As the Supporter leader focuses on facts and detailed information rather than the emotional aspects of who provided the information and why, they provide clear instructions and specific suggestions that ensure little to no ambiguity. Their ability to consider, connect, and communicate effectively as part of the group has a significant positive impact on conformity and ambiguity. Still, there is a risk when they get too close to the team.
One key area where the Selfless Supporter often struggles is managing the level of energy and stimulation of the team. A leader with low levels of Promoter traits can be seen as part of the group, so they tend to be strongly included in the ‘in-group’ thinking of the team. In social psychology, the idea of in-group and out-group has been researched for years. In simple terms, it is the logic error we make when we feel more connected to people we think are part of the same group we are, and we assume similar thinking that may or may not exist. If the Supporter leader is intimately and genuinely integrated into the group, then they are one voice among many, making it harder for them to act in their role as a leader, and they may struggle to motivate or influence team energy.
The second potential pitfall for a leader with low levels of Promoter traits is their inability to lower anxiety. While stimulation can be driven by fear of something real, anxiety is fear of something imagined. If the leader takes a ‘laissez-faire’ approach to leadership and does not provide context for what is happening, the team may find alternative information and drift into excessive worry, focusing on their own problems rather than the problems the business needs them to solve. This is another example where ‘steering from the rear’ can be an effective leadership approach – to a point. One critical factor that helps the Supporter leader be more effective is sincerity. To lower anxiety and focus their team, particularly in volatile and uncertain situations, Supporter leaders must provide frank feedback and be conscious to share alternate views and lead from the front.
Identifying and leveraging the Rockstars and Supporters
So how do you know if you have the Rockstars to confidently lead from the front, or the Supporter to calmly steer from the rear? As business becomes more complex and challenging organizations can no longer rely on assessments that measure a leader’s ‘identity’ - their self-perception and the view others have of them. As things get tougher, measurements and data related to a leader’s actual capability must get better. Organizations need scientific, reliable data on the true personality of their leaders.
The Greyscale is the only commercial leadership test that uses science and psychology to measure what type of Promoter a leader is - are they the Rockstar who excels in the spotlight or the Supporter who shares it? To test your leaders and learn more check out The Greyscale Assessment at http://tgsleadership.com.
