If you have seen the most recent Marvel movie “Avengers Endgame” (has anyone not seen it?), then you know that the two major “alpha” characters (Thanos: bad, The Hulk: good) square off near the end in all out-out battle to save the universe. Of course, Hulk, who by the end of the film has learned to control his ‘all-rage-all-the-time’ modus operandi and become “Professor Hulk,” has a multitude of alpha pals to help him in the team effort that finally vanquishes the evil one.
In today’s real world leadership landscape there is a similar, if quiet, revolution taking place, not unlike what we witness in our beloved Hulk. I call it the beta revolution: the rise of a more sensitive, collaborative, consensus-oriented approach to leadership. This shift doesn’t totally vanquish the need for alphas but recognizes that if humanity is to survive — and thrive — in a world that sorely needs innovation and a sense of community, we need to build organizations where the voice, talent and skills of every individual are valued.
If you happen to tip the scale in the alpha direction (even if you don’t wreak havoc on the furniture), here are four steps to tame your own big green monster. I call them the four “P’s” of beta leadership:
1. Pause — alphas tend to be action-oriented. The tendency to want to move quickly is great when the going gets rough, but when the goal is to generate ideas, insights and possibilities from as many people as possible, it helps to create a safe space for reflection — and to pause before you act. The practice known as “mindfulness” — sitting quietly, focusing on the breath, observing one’s thoughts, even if only for a brief minute or two — are all scientifically proven to calm the energy of anxiety and frustration.
One of my alpha clients who works in the hard-driving environment of a Wall Street bank, received feedback that he was alienating colleagues with a brusque, fast demeanor that shut people down. Motivated to be collaborative, he started inserting what he calls “buffer zones” into his day. He takes 1–3 minute breaks in between meetings to breathe, take a short walk, get some fresh air and stretch, before moving to the next interaction. Inserting the energy of a “pause” gives him an opportunity to physically and emotionally “re-set,” to get grounded and focused for the next interaction.
2. Poll — when tough decisions need to be made, a hard-charging alpha leader may develop the habit of gathering her team for a quick run-down of the facts, make a decision — and expect everyone to jump. All well and good if you are doing brain surgery, but for most situations, today’s decisions require creativity, which can only emerge when people feel safe, generative, and heard.
Creating space for innovation requires leaders to shift from a “push” to a “pull” mode — where the energy is focused on active listening and employing open, exploratory questions that encourage everyone to participate. By adding a “poll” activity into any decision-making process, alphas are more likely to get valuable input from the team; e.g. before moving ahead on an initiative, go around the room and respectfully listen to whether people are on board or not. If not, recognize that there may be useful data — or fear and anxiety — that needs to be addressed before the team is fully aligned and ready to move in unison.
3. Praise — the evidence is in on what motivates us: positive feedback. Neuroscience studies with fMRI imaging of the brain’s response to negative input versus positive are quite definitive — when the perceived input is positive, we are moved to join, to improve, to step up and be inspired to change and grow. When the input is negative, we tend to shut down, be de-motivated and become highly self-critical. This fact about human behavior is why strengths-based approaches to feedback, which focus on how we can expand what we do well instead of “fixing” what’s broken, tend to be more effective.
If you are an alpha leader who tends to dismiss the science and prefer the “give-it-to-me-straight” approach to feedback, keep in mind that people on your team may be operating in sub-par ways — avoiding risk, anxious about mistakes — not exactly a set-up for top performance. Meaningful and specific praise — including celebrating small wins — is what inspires people to grow and change. Praise by itself, of course, is not enough. Great leaders coach, mentor and advise as well, but positive reinforcement of “what works” is a crucial starting point for motivating the troops.
4. Persuade — ironically, in a world that is obsessed today with “big data” — the science of motivation shows that data, as important as it is to refine our decision-making, is not enough to engender passion. People want to know the “why” behind a decision; they want to hear where they fit into the past-present-future of an initiative. In highly technical fields like medicine, pharmaceutical research, software engineering, I’ve seen brilliant alpha style leaders pull together all the needed data to make a decision (on the development of a new medicine, for example) yet when attempting to inspire the troupes to pour their heart and soul into the work, they get carried away with Powerpoints of facts and figures that put the team to sleep.
The most impactful leaders learn to integrate a narrative arc — the history, the dream, the purpose, the meaning — into their presentation of the data. If you are an alpha, this doesn’t mean you have to become another Oprah, but it does mean that pulling a team together into a highly motivated engine of commitment is fueled by the power of persuasion, not directives or data. All it takes is a few moments to pause and ask whyis this decision, goal, or initiative important to me? What are we really hoping to accomplish? If you can answer these questions for yourself, and be personal, maybe even a bit vulnerable in sharing your hopes, dreams and fears — with the team, they may just walk to the ends of the earth to make it happen.
In sum, these four “P”s represent a shift from “power over” energy towards a “power with” approach designed to empowerallof the people in a team to bring their full talents and capabilities to a problem. It may be true that autocratic, alpha leaders still dominate many major organizations and nation states, but the rise of the beta leader is well underway. Hollywood is on to another blockbuster, and the emergence of Bruce Banner as professor Hulk, who learns to integrate and tame his inner monster, just in time to say the universe, points the way.
