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In an intriguing set of experiments a few years ago, a group of American social scientists, led by Adam Galinsky at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management, used the E test and some other techniques to investigate the connection between power and empathy.

There is overwhelming evidence for the economic benefits for organisations which have happy employees. Often places where people are unhappy are places where the leaders are unhappy too – or at least, wouldn’t describe themselves as ‘happy’. Many leaders would say they’re ‘OK’ or ‘fine’, their criteria being the number and importance of the ‘issues’ or ‘problems’ they’re currently trying to sort out. But happy? Rarely.

Once a company, or business unit grows beyond a certain point, (about 40 people, depending on the personalities and location of people) culture becomes a critical factor. If you are running a business when it gets to this size, it is likely that you have plenty on your mind other than culture. The suggestion that you need to focus on culture is usually met with some level of scepticism.

Analysis of corporate leaders’ 360-degree feedback suggest that as many as one in four has a listening deficit. The effects can be devastating for a company. But, despite today’s fast-paced business environment, even time-starved leaders can master the art of disciplined listening. Conventional advice for better listening is to be emotionally intelligent and available; however, truly good listening requires far more than that.

A solid coaching relationship flows from the right combination of autonomy, shared responsibility and building new skills. Do you shy away from coaching because you’re worried about not having all the answers, and you think you should? Interestingly, employees say they don’t want answers. They want probing questions that make them explore solutions on their own and understand more fully the situations facing them.

What are consultants for? The key to understanding the consultant role is to distinguish between a consultant and a manager – and it’s all about control, or power. A consultant is a person in a position to have some influence over an individual, a group, or an organisation, but who has no direct power to make changes or implement programmes. A manager is someone who has direct control over the action. The moment you take direct control, you are acting as a manager.

One of the biggest risks of being in the leadership position in a big organisation is that no one is going to tell you the truth in an open and honest way. A few leaders are lucky or wise enough to bring in outside consultants to perform this task. Most hire consultants who tell them their baby is beautiful, because that’s the type of information that gets you invited back.

When we talk about Organisational Behaviour, we’re thinking about a wide range of topics, such as human behaviour, change, leadership and teams. Organisational Behaviour is the study and application of knowledge about how people, individuals, and groups act in organisations. It interprets people and organisation relationships in terms of the whole person, whole group, whole organisation, and whole social system. Its purpose is to build better relationships by achieving human objectives, organisational objectives, and social objectives.

As a leader, have you thought about how you might empower those around you? Here are some pointers:

Have a vision broad and deep enough to inspire others and allow them to take parts of it and make it their own.
Help the group develop a strategy—a plan for getting from here to there, with milestones and goals along the way.
Use Command mode sparely. Most of the time, lead by example and persuasion.

Is it possible to focus too much on ‘leadership’ in business? We think the answer could be ‘yes.’ Seeing leaders as ‘special beings’ risks creating what Henry Mintzberg called ‘leadership apart’: leaders unconnected to their organisations, insulated from conflict, challenge, and debate; and unwitting creators of a culture of conformity and compliance rather than creativity and innovation.