The Psychology of Leadership

Sébastien Page

Apple Books export — yellow=info, pink/purple=insights, blue=how.

The Psychologyof Leadership

• That time, I played to the absolute best of my abilities

• A leader's job is to inspire others

  • You put on your oxygen mask before helping others
    • Understand yourself so you can understand others. It's about empathy, leading by example, and personal resilience.
  • focusing on mastery over ego, the importance of relationships and community, the meaning of sport as a meritocracy, and engagement and flow

P8 - Build a bigger rocket - unleash the power of social comparison

• Social comparison is a powerful motivator for individuals and organizations

  • It is in their power to not want what they donot have, and to cheerfully put to good use what they have
    • they rarely spend enough time reminding everyong of what makes the team great, why the organization is lucky to benefit from competitive advantages, or why their culture is special. Even in tough times, or especially in tough times, gratitude lifts morale.

• Internal competition should be secondary to collaboration - or even a tool for it

  • Make interna lcompetition friendly and enjoyable
    • Internal competition must not come at the expense of trust, mutual respect, and a shared understanding of the team's mission
  • Rally your team against a worthy competitor
    • Most people get more motivation through competition than positive encouragement

P9 - Upgrade Your Operating System - identify and manage your core beliefs

• know yourself better

  • understand your roots and define your belief systems

• Core beliefs

  • when you feel deeply about something

• Go ahead and explore your childhood and traumatic or memorable life events if needed. Managing and upgrading your core beliefs will help you avoid frequent errors in judgment, better allocate your time and energy, and ultimately, become a better leader

• TODO

The Psychologyof Leadership-ebook-050325 — 6

info

• (yellow, 2026-01-08) have clarity on their long-term goals

• (yellow, 2026-01-08) help you set goals

• (yellow, 2026-04-11) What truly matters to you and the people

The Psychologyof Leadership-ebook-050325 — 7

insights

• (purple, 2026-01-08) their internal desire to control their lives

• (purple, 2026-01-08) learn about the world

• (purple, 2026-01-08) accomplish something that endures.

• (purple, 2026-01-09) The leader’s job is to set goals for their organization and individuals

how

• (blue, 2026-01-09) exit based on stop-loss rules

info

• (yellow, 2026-01-09) Measurability

• (yellow, 2026-01-09) Adopt a mastery mindset

• (yellow, 2026-01-09) make sure you examine your decision-making process

• (yellow, 2026-01-09) SEE model

• (yellow, 2026-01-09) systematize warning signals

other

• (green, 2026-01-09) Here’s my advice

The Psychologyof Leadership-ebook-050325 — 8

insights

• (pink, 2025-12-24) aimed at experiencing happiness

• (pink, 2025-12-24) positive emotions (P)

• (pink, 2025-12-24) engagement (E)

• (pink, 2025-12-24) relationships (R)

• (pink, 2025-12-24) meaning (M)

• (pink, 2025-12-24) and accomplishments (A)

• (purple, 2026-01-09) Happiness leads to success

info

• (yellow, 2025-12-24) Am I pursuing the right goals?

• (yellow, 2025-12-24) set better long-term goals

• (yellow, 2025-12-24) Companies

• (yellow, 2025-12-24) should maximize profits for shareholders

• (yellow, 2025-12-24) as long as they also care for employees, clients, and the environment

• (yellow, 2025-12-24) describes five dimensions of happiness

The Psychologyof Leadership-ebook-050325 — 9

insights

• (pink, 2026-01-09) How does he maximize engagement or flow in his life

• (pink, 2026-01-09) maximize return on time spent (ROTS).

info

• (yellow, 2026-01-09) applying the concept of flow to corporate goal setting

• (yellow, 2026-01-09) any task can be enjoyable if you pay enough attention

The Psychologyof Leadership-ebook-050325 — 10

insights

• (purple, 2026-01-09) ambition is a good thing if managed properly

• (purple, 2026-01-09) corporate culture

• (purple, 2026-01-09) feeling

• (purple, 2026-01-09) applicable feedback

• (purple, 2026-01-09) focus on mutual respect

• (pink, 2026-01-09) the ability to have tough conversations

• (pink, 2026-01-09) sometimes make unpopular decisions

• (pink, 2026-01-09) ever compromising on mutual respect and empathy.

• (pink, 2026-01-09) keep cool by recognizing when you’re having a stress response

• (pink, 2026-01-09) being able to disagree with mutual respect

• (pink, 2026-01-09) Effective collaboration

• (purple, 2026-01-09) culture drives everything

• (purple, 2026-01-09) defines how people work together

• (pink, 2026-01-09) showing fallibility

• (pink, 2026-01-09) belonging, trust, and shared vulnerability

• (purple, 2026-01-09) foster mutual trust

• (pink, 2026-01-09) allow tough conversations to be productive

• (pink, 2026-01-09) When people feel safe and respected

• (purple, 2026-01-09) Who does what?

• (purple, 2026-01-09) nurture positive relationships

• (purple, 2026-01-09) with family, friends, co-workers, and community

how

• (blue, 2026-01-09) Start by putting all the facts on the table

• (blue, 2026-01-09) before you disagree, take a second to point out something you agree on

• (blue, 2026-01-09) rethinking some people’s job definition or reporting lines

• (blue, 2026-01-09) as well as hiring and firing decisions

info

• (yellow, 2026-01-09) more socially connected to family, to friends, to community, are

• (yellow, 2026-01-09) happier, physically healthier, and live longer than

• (yellow, 2026-01-09) prioritize relationships at work and at home.

• (yellow, 2026-01-09) family

• (yellow, 2026-01-09) examples of corporate decisions that illustrate a positive culture

other

• (green, 2026-01-09) We all agree that

• (green, 2026-01-09) but where I see things differently is

• (green, 2026-01-09) pay a genuine compliment to the person you’re about to disagree with

• (green, 2026-01-09) you establish rules of the game within your team

• (green, 2026-01-09) Explain that you’re about to debate ideas, nothing personal

• (green, 2026-01-09) Principle 4: Make Year-End Reviews Useless—Prioritize Relationships

The Psychologyof Leadership-ebook-050325 — 11

insights

• (pink, 2026-01-10) want to contribute to something larger than themselves

The Psychologyof Leadership-ebook-050325 — 12

insights

• (purple, 2026-01-13) making how you do things better

• (purple, 2026-01-13) Your psyche combines a drive towards mastery and a desire to win

info

• (yellow, 2026-01-13) mastery goals are essential for intrinsic motivation

• (yellow, 2026-01-13) more than ego-driven goals

• (yellow, 2026-01-13) process

• (yellow, 2026-01-13) the mastery-focused player enjoys the game a lot more

other

• (green, 2026-01-13) improve their swing and derives personal satisfaction from it

• (green, 2026-01-13) This player plays for the sake of playing

The Psychologyof Leadership-ebook-050325 — 13

insights

• (pink, 2026-01-10) your sense of ethics and aspirations are influenced by who you admire

• (pink, 2026-01-10) how they approach their work

• (pink, 2026-01-10) that makes them role models

• (pink, 2026-01-10) your ability to understand people’s motivations and mindsets

how

• (blue, 2026-01-10) pay employees at competitive levels and differentiate based on performance.

• (blue, 2026-01-10) expand your definition of compensation. Many people are motivated by additional factors such as autonomy, power, prestige, the social aspects of work, or altruism.

info

• (yellow, 2026-01-10) Who do you know that’s successful but isn’t focused on external rewards

• (yellow, 2026-01-10) Who hunkers down and does the hard work every day

• (yellow, 2026-01-10) especially when it comes to meaning and setting big goals

• (yellow, 2026-01-10) They have an accomplishment focus

• (yellow, 2026-01-10) These different money personalities

• (yellow, 2026-01-10) ask them what they like most about their jobs

other

• (green, 2026-01-10) emphasizes the concept of autonomy

• (green, 2026-01-10) What do you truly care about?

The Psychologyof Leadership-ebook-050325 — 15

insights

• (pink, 2026-01-08) know yourself better

• (purple, 2026-01-08) My parents are examples of role models

• (purple, 2026-01-08) Core beliefs will often be expressed when stress

• (purple, 2026-01-08) Go ahead and explore your childhood and traumatic or memorable life events

• (purple, 2026-01-08) Managing and upgrading your core beliefs will help you avoid frequent errors

info

• (yellow, 2026-01-08) combine empathy with personal boundaries

• (yellow, 2026-01-08) value hard work as its own reward

• (yellow, 2026-01-08) importance of self-determination

• (yellow, 2026-01-08) meritocracy

• (yellow, 2026-01-08) core beliefs represent what’s important to us, what we’re striving for, what motivates us, and what we’re afraid of

• (yellow, 2026-01-08) They drive the decisions we make

• (yellow, 2026-01-08) helped me identify an unhelpful core belief

• (yellow, 2026-01-08) Excellence

• (yellow, 2026-01-08) Clients First

• (yellow, 2026-01-08) Collaboration

• (yellow, 2026-01-08) Trust and Mutual Respect

• (yellow, 2026-01-08) Make your case on behalf of our clients

• (yellow, 2026-01-08) what core beliefs are

• (yellow, 2026-07-23) helps to understand your roots and define your (and your organization’s) belief systems

other

• (green, 2026-01-08) Upgrade Your Operating System—Identify and Manage Your Core Beliefs

The Psychologyof Leadership-ebook-050325 — 16

insights

• (purple, 2026-01-13) setting long-term goals

• (pink, 2026-01-13) Which goals

• (pink, 2026-01-13) Start with your definition of happiness

• (pink, 2026-01-13) hen define your goals

info

• (yellow, 2026-01-13) that mismanaged goals can reduce intrinsic motivation

• (yellow, 2026-01-13) Reframe your goals around ERMA: engagement, relationships, meaning, and accomplishment

• (yellow, 2026-01-13) think about death

The Psychologyof Leadership-ebook-050325 — 21

how

• (blue, 2026-01-12) evaluate whether it was critical and time-sensitive

• (blue, 2026-01-12) should keep your options open

• (blue, 2026-01-12) most of us don’t take advantage of the time

• (blue, 2026-01-12) know when you should take decisive action and when you shouldn’t

• (blue, 2026-01-12) insert a cooling-off period

The Psychologyof Leadership-ebook-050325 — 22

insights

• (pink, 2026-01-12) Your career is your small enterprise

• (purple, 2026-01-12) as a leader

• (purple, 2026-01-12) an important part of your job is to help others progress in their careers

• (pink, 2026-01-12) separate signal from noise is to take a long-term perspective

• (purple, 2026-01-12) you put today’s problems in the context of your lifetime and eventual death

• (purple, 2026-01-12) end up with pure signal—the things that really matter

• (purple, 2026-01-12) talk to a mentor.

• (purple, 2026-01-12) Find someone you can talk to about your challenges

• (pink, 2026-01-12) get closer to clients

• (pink, 2026-01-12) learning their needs

• (pink, 2026-01-12) making your work relevant to your firm’s commercial success

• (purple, 2026-01-12) Stay close to revenues

• (purple, 2026-01-12) Your place in the value chain becomes clearer

• (purple, 2026-01-12) the closer you are to a revenue stream

• (pink, 2026-01-12) Build your human capital

• (pink, 2026-01-12) Focus on the trend

• (purple, 2026-01-12) you progress towards creating, innovating, leading, selling, or risk-taking

• (pink, 2026-01-12) Don’t get too good at coding

• (pink, 2026-01-12) Adjust your perspective

• (pink, 2026-01-12) Resilience is key

• (pink, 2026-01-12) Stoic philosophy

• (pink, 2026-01-12) Emphasize communication

• (purple, 2026-01-12) quality

• (pink, 2026-01-13) Take care of yourself

• (pink, 2026-01-13) build habits

• (pink, 2026-01-13) underreaction errors

how

• (blue, 2026-01-13) consult with a mentor.

• (blue, 2026-01-13) Find someone with experience and perspective who doesn’t have skin in the game

• (blue, 2026-01-13) Ask them to provide a clinical, unbiased assessment of your challenges

info

• (yellow, 2026-01-10) Separate Signal from Noise—Focus on What Matters

• (yellow, 2026-01-12) apply control theory to career management

• (yellow, 2026-01-12) revenues

• (yellow, 2026-01-12) costs

• (yellow, 2026-01-12) stakeholders

• (yellow, 2026-01-12) market value

• (yellow, 2026-01-12) weat the minor negative setbacks

• (yellow, 2026-01-12) but wouldn’t overreact to noise

• (yellow, 2026-01-12) the upside

• (yellow, 2026-01-12) only if you’re also able to put them in the context of the long-term trend

• (yellow, 2026-01-12) Does today’s setback change anything to that trajectory

• (yellow, 2026-01-12) don’t think you’re too senior, smart, or experienced to work with a mentor. You’re not.

• (yellow, 2026-01-12) Where’s the revenue stream

• (yellow, 2026-01-12) your network of industry contacts

• (yellow, 2026-01-12) your publications in academic journals

• (yellow, 2026-01-12) your reputation on the conference circuit

• (yellow, 2026-01-12) your educational credentials, etc.

• (yellow, 2026-01-12) you align your efforts to be relevant to your job

• (yellow, 2026-01-12) Will this issue affect my ability to achieve my goals over time?

• (yellow, 2026-01-12) not just execution for someone else’s priorities

• (yellow, 2026-01-12) how we react to setbacks

• (yellow, 2026-01-12) collaboration and teamwork are essential

• (yellow, 2026-01-12) communicate clearly

• (yellow, 2026-01-12) do a few things very well and pay attention to details than to take on too many projects and deliver “just okay” work

• (yellow, 2026-01-13) Mind your diet, exercise, and sleep

• (yellow, 2026-01-13) mindfulness/meditation

• (yellow, 2026-01-13) focus on the trend

The Psychologyof Leadership-ebook-050325 — 23

insights

• (purple, 2026-01-13) How do you set the right goals for yourself and your organization?

• (purple, 2026-01-13) how to manage stress

The Psychologyof Leadership-ebook-050325 — 25

insights

• (purple, 2026-01-07) my job as a leader has been focused on relationships

• (purple, 2026-01-07) All behavior is purposeful

• (purple, 2026-01-07) Empathy is the key

• (pink, 2026-01-07) must listen and understand the perspective of others

• (purple, 2026-01-20) Will they follow?

• (purple, 2026-01-20) motivation

• (purple, 2026-01-20) consoling those who feel down

• (purple, 2026-01-20) resolving conflicts

info

• (yellow, 2026-01-07) personality

• (yellow, 2026-01-07) Understand why people think what they think and do what they do

• (yellow, 2026-01-20) comprise a person’s unique adjustment to life

other

• (green, 2026-01-20) Here are the Big Five traits

The Psychologyof Leadership-ebook-050325 — 26

insights

• (pink, 2026-01-07) listening

• (pink, 2026-01-20) Recognize who’s an introvert and who’s an extrovert on your team

how

• (blue, 2026-01-07) apologize for interrupting, summarize the person’s point, and pivot

• (blue, 2026-01-20) Apologies for interrupting

• (blue, 2026-01-20) but we only

• (blue, 2026-01-20) What you’re saying is

• (blue, 2026-01-20) John, what do you think

info

• (yellow, 2026-01-20) I need you to

• (yellow, 2026-01-20) it will require a lot of my energy

• (yellow, 2026-01-20) empowering others.

The Psychologyof Leadership-ebook-050325 — 27

insights

• (pink, 2026-01-08) a bit of disagreeableness

• (pink, 2026-01-08) measure who makes the most meaningful contributions to the team

• (purple, 2026-01-08) being comfortable making people uncomfortable

• (purple, 2026-01-08) giving them feedback in a respectful way that lets them know they’re valued

• (purple, 2026-01-08) open and responsive to differing viewpoints.

• (purple, 2026-01-08) listening to understand

• (purple, 2026-01-20) it’s about being open

• (pink, 2026-01-20) someone who’s rarely disagreeable yet can show teeth occasionally

• (purple, 2026-01-20) Use this 10% thoughtfully and deliberately

• (purple, 2026-01-20) about 10% of the time

how

• (blue, 2026-01-20) My boss looks at how my team rates my performance through a formal review process

• (blue, 2026-01-20) balance agreeableness with the courage to make unpopular yet necessary decisions

• (blue, 2026-01-20) must be able to lean towards the opposite side of agreeableness

info

• (yellow, 2026-01-08) pushing people to grow

• (yellow, 2026-01-20) Being agreeable means being mentally flexible, adaptive, and open to another person’s perspective

• (yellow, 2026-01-20) ask for feedback to reduce the stress for both parties

• (yellow, 2026-01-20) they ask how we’ll measure their success

• (yellow, 2026-01-20) Leaders must separate signal from noise to choose when to be disagreeable

• (yellow, 2026-01-20) I struggle with this tradeoff

The Psychologyof Leadership-ebook-050325 — 28

insights

• (pink, 2026-01-20) understanding where people fall on this scale

how

• (blue, 2026-01-20) allow them to vent their anxiety—just listen

• (blue, 2026-01-20) need a gentle push once in a while to perform at their best

info

• (yellow, 2026-01-20) creativity is indeed one of the upsides of neuroticism

• (yellow, 2026-01-20) a source of motivation

• (yellow, 2026-01-20) It gives them drive

• (yellow, 2026-01-20) not only because they love their sport or want to win but also because they’re terrified of losing

• (yellow, 2026-01-20) Anxious people

The Psychologyof Leadership-ebook-050325 — 29

insights

• (pink, 2026-01-21) To make it interesting

• (pink, 2026-01-21) Openness to experience

• (purple, 2026-01-21) You must focus on a key set of priorities

• (purple, 2026-01-21) A few things done very well are better

• (purple, 2026-01-21) In life, we’re always selling

• (pink, 2026-01-21) because they listen carefully to the other side

• (purple, 2026-01-21) execute a handful of them exceptionally well

how

• (blue, 2026-01-21) Give people with low openness time to process your change agenda

• (blue, 2026-01-21) Rein in those with high openness before they chase too many rabbits

info

• (yellow, 2026-01-21) Take a minute and ask yourself in which situations you display high openness and in which situations you display low openness

• (yellow, 2026-01-21) you must show openness

• (yellow, 2026-01-21) soft skills

• (yellow, 2026-01-21) respectfully disagree

• (yellow, 2026-01-21) boost your creativity and reduce your potential bias

• (yellow, 2026-01-21) focus

The Psychologyof Leadership-ebook-050325 — 30

insights

• (pink, 2026-01-21) conscientiousness is the key factor to their success

• (purple, 2026-01-21) Habits

• (pink, 2026-01-21) Success is the product of daily habits

• (pink, 2026-01-21) far more concerned with your current trajectory

• (pink, 2026-01-21) managing the potential downsides

• (pink, 2026-01-21) develop personal and organizational habits that improve conscientiousness

info

• (yellow, 2026-01-21) pairing people with high and low levels of conscientiousness increases team performance

The Psychologyof Leadership-ebook-050325 — 31

insights

• (pink, 2026-01-21) more extroverted

• (pink, 2026-01-21) more open to experience

• (pink, 2026-01-21) more conscientious, and less neurotic

• (purple, 2026-01-22) You’ll need to speak more to reach your 1/n target

• (pink, 2026-01-22) Are you making others better?

• (pink, 2026-01-22) Are you making the team better?

• (pink, 2026-01-22) Find new challenges. Bring a bit of fear into your life

• (pink, 2026-01-22) driven by fear of failure

how

• (blue, 2026-01-22) he would link 10% of their year-end bonus to resolving their conflict with each other

• (blue, 2026-01-22) earn to prioritize

• (blue, 2026-01-22) be more skeptical

• (blue, 2026-01-22) keep your thrill-seeking tendencies in check

info

• (yellow, 2026-01-22) Life is too short to work with jerks

• (yellow, 2026-01-22) channel their disagreeableness to productive ends

• (yellow, 2026-01-22) small, daily habits

other

• (green, 2026-01-22) Extraversion

The Psychologyof Leadership-ebook-050325 — 32

info

• (yellow, 2026-01-22) start from an endpoint