Authored by: Amber CY Tsai, PhD, Postdoctoral Research Fellow, University of Tasmania, Toby Newstead, PhD, Leadership Scholar and Executive Leadership Coach, and Joseph Crawford, PhD, Organisational Behaviour Scholar.
The Talking Leadership Development webinar series has been an exciting journey addressing key questions such as What is Leadership?, Leadership Development for What?, and Challenges & Opportunities in Developing Leadership.
For this fourth webinar, we took a different approach—rather than presenting a predetermined theme, we flipped the script, and adopted a “Dear Abby” format, inviting our audience to pose questions to our expert panel: Dr Ruchi Sinha, Associate Professor at Nanyang Technological University Singapore (NTU) Business School; Prof. Scott Allen, an instructor in Executive Education at SMU’s Cox School of Business and the host of the Phronesis: Practical Wisdom for Leaders podcast; and Prof. Ronald Riggio, Henry R. Kravis Professor of Leadership and Organizational Psychology and former Director of the Kravis Leadership Institute at Claremont McKenna College.
The panel tackled a wide range of seminal leadership questions, including how we develop into a great leader, what executive presence is, how to develop leadership in teams, and how to apply adaptive leadership.
How we develop into a great leader?
Prof. Scott Allen anchored his response around a quote by Bob Hogan: “Who you are is how you lead”. He emphasised that leadership isn’t just about acquiring skills but about developing one’s character, personality, lived experiences, and moral compass.
“Are you a person of character? Are you a learner? And are you reflective about self?” Allen highlighted that great leaders cultivate a habit of learning, reading widely, and systematically engaging with new ideas. He also shared his personal practice of meeting with a mentor every two weeks, not out of crisis, but to continuously refine his leadership capabilities. “If others are in your care—students, children, employees—are you the best possible version of yourself?” he challenged.
Prof. Ronald Riggio built on Allen’s insights by distinguishing between top-down and bottom-up leadership development. “The top-down approach is learning about leadership theories, strategies, and techniques. The bottom-up approach comes from real-world experience”, he explained. According to Riggio, effective leaders integrate both. They study leadership principles while simultaneously learning from experience, making mistakes, and refining their approach through feedback.
He also reinforced the need for feedback in leadership development, describing it as a critical mechanism for growth. “Get feedback from your team, your peers, and your mentors. Your leadership coach, if you have one, is valuable, but so is the insight from the people you lead”.
How can feedback shape leadership growth?
Dr Ruchi Sinha took the discussion deeper into the importance of structured feedback in leadership development. She pointed out that self-reflection alone is not enough, as we can only truly understand our presence based on how others perceive us: “We all have biases in how we see ourselves. Leadership isn’t just the story we tell ourselves; it’s also the story others validate about us”.
She advised leaders to actively seek structured, multi-sourced feedback rather than relying on vague observations. Instead of asking, ‘How am I doing?’, we should ask more direct questions such as, ‘What is one thing I did well in today’s meeting? What is one thing I could improve?’. She explained that such focused inquiries help create a safe space for honest feedback and make it easier for colleagues and team members to share insights. Moreover, tracking feedback over time builds a personal dataset that allows leaders to identify patterns in their strengths and development areas.
“If you want to develop leadership as a long-term growth process, you need to track and analyse feedback, just as you would any other important data”.
The panellists agreed that leadership is not a destination but an ongoing process of self-discovery and development. As Allen put it, “Human development is leadership development. If I am the best version of myself, I will be better equipped to lead others”. Whether through self-reflection, continuous learning, or structured feedback, the key takeaway was clear: great leadership starts with an intentional commitment to continual growth.
How can leaders cultivate executive presence without losing authenticity?
One intriguing question raised by the audience revolved around executive presence: How can leaders develop a strong presence without falling into outdated, heroic leadership tropes? Riggio framed executive presence as a social skill, requiring leaders to manage how they are perceived. “If you’re in a leadership position, you have power. You have the potential to influence others. But how you present yourself determines whether that influence is effective”, he explained.
According to Riggio, executive presence isn’t about projecting dominance or charisma; it’s about balancing confidence with authenticity. “You want to look like a leader, portraying confidence and competence, but you also want your true self to come through”. However, he warned against misinterpreting authentic leadership as unchecked transparency: “Being authentic doesn’t mean saying everything that’s on your mind. Leaders still need to manage their impression”. He described this as “the dangerous art of impression management”, a delicate balance of social tact and leadership projection. Leaders must cultivate social competence by understanding how their words and actions are received by others rather than simply focusing on how they present themselves.
Allen expanded on Riggio’s insights by introducing the idea that great leaders constantly balance contradictions (Johnson, 1992), the competing demands that leaders must navigate daily, and highlighted a few critical tensions they face:
- Confidence vs. Humility: “How do I show up as confident but also humble?”
- Performance vs. Transformation: “Leaders today must perform in the present while simultaneously transforming their organisation for the future”.
- Empathy vs. Accountability: “How do I show empathy to my team while also holding them accountable for results?”
The panellists agreed that executive presence is not an innate trait, it’s a learned skill and requires:
- Social competence: Understanding how your presence is received by others.
- Balancing tensions: Mastering the contradictions of leadership.
- Structured feedback: Actively seeking and tracking external perspectives.
How to develop leadership in teams?
Beyond individual leadership development, the panellists responded to questions about fostering leadership within teams and organisations. Allen suggested that developing leadership at the team level can simply start with small, intentional actions that prioritise learning and collaboration. “Leadership development doesn’t have to be a half-day workshop or an expensive offsite. A simple five-minute discussion in a regular team meeting—reflecting on an article, a TED Talk, or a leadership insight—can systematise learning and growth. The key question is: are we making it a priority?”
Sinha reinforced this idea, arguing that role modelling leadership development sets organisational norms. “When leaders share their learning journey, they create an environment where continuous improvement becomes the norm”. The small actions of a leader, such as asking for feedback, acknowledging their own mistakes, and encouraging team members to share their insights, collectively shape a culture of growth and development.
Riggio also suggested that leaders don’t lead in isolation; they create it together with their teams, and he highlighted the importance of fostering collaboration, open communication, and shared mental models within teams. He pointed out that effective leadership doesn’t come solely from the top, it requires an environment where followers feel empowered to contribute to decision-making. “For leadership to truly develop, teams need a culture of trust, where everyone feels safe to voice ideas and challenge assumptions”, he said.
Another important thread in the discussion was the role of followership in leadership development. Riggio noted that leadership isn’t just about the person in charge. He referenced Ira Chaleff’s work on courageous followership (2003), which emphasises that good followers don’t just comply, they challenge and support their leaders as and when required.
Sinha gave an example from her work with South Australian schools, where pilot programs in just one or two schools created ripple effects across the system. “When people see something working, they are more likely to adopt it”. Riggio added that intellectual stimulation is key to shifting culture. “Encourage people to question assumptions, think critically, and propose new ideas. Leaders don’t need to have all the answers; they need to create an environment where people collectively generate solutions”.
The panel concluded that team leadership development is a shared responsibility. It’s about fostering an environment where learning, feedback, and collaboration become the norm. Whether through small system tweaks, daily habits, role modelling, creating psychological safety, or shifting organisational culture through grassroots initiatives, leadership is a shared process that requires followership and participation from both everyone.
How can adaptive leadership navigate uncertainty?
The final question from the audience focused on adaptive leadership, a concept that has gained significant traction as both a trend and a theory in practitioner and academic spaces. Unlike technical problems, which have clear solutions, adaptive challenges require leaders to engage their teams, experiment, and continuously adjust strategies.
Sinha linked adaptive leadership to the shifting landscape of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). She pointed out that DEI initiatives often begin as structural responses to legal or market pressures, but true inclusion demands a more nuanced approach. “What would an adaptive leader do if they wanted to be inclusive? They would spend some time diagnosing the issue”. This means understanding workforce demographics, labour market trends, and societal shifts before making decisions.
She emphasised the need for leaders to engage at the ground level, gathering feedback and experimenting with small policy adjustments. Sinha warned against rigid approaches. “The worst way to lead on DEI right now is to either backtrack on structural changes or blindly stick to them while ignoring societal shifts”. Instead, adaptive leaders must diagnose, test, and refine their strategies while keeping people engaged and informed. Leaders should not feel pressured to find one definitive solution.
Riggio suggested that “Leadership is not just about the leader; it’s about how we involve people, align them toward a shared purpose, and navigate change together”. He stressed that successful adaptation requires leaders to create the right environment for problem-solving rather than imposing solutions from the top down. For leaders to successfully adapt, they need to engage their teams in problem-solving rather than trying to impose solutions from above.
The panel identified three key conditions for adaptive leadership to emerge:
- Psychological safety: Ensuring that employees feel comfortable challenging ideas and offering feedback.
- Shared purpose: Aligning teams around a common goal, even as strategies evolve.
- Collaborative problem-solving: Encouraging team members to contribute to decision-making rather than waiting for top-down directives.
Allen described adaptive leadership as a cyclical process of testing, learning, and refining strategies. “With complex challenges, there’s no authority figure to call for the right answer. It’s about elevating the right questions, creating psychological safety for discussions, and running experiments to see what works”. Adaptive leadership is about keeping the organisation in a constant state of learning. Leaders who embrace experimentation, feedback, and continuous evolution will be the ones who thrive.
Together, the panel highlighted these key aspects of adaptive leadership:
- Identifying signals of change: Diagnosing emerging challenges and shifts in the environment.
- Running small experiments: Trying different approaches to see what moves the needle.
- Gathering and analysing data: Evaluating outcomes, including real-time feedback from employees, to refine strategies.
- Scaling up or down based on data-driven insights: Adjusting initiatives based on data-driven insights.
- Continuing the learning cycle: Remaining flexible and open to continuous improvement.
The webinar offered a thoughtful exploration of leadership, reinforcing that it is not a fixed trait but a continuous process of learning, adapting, and evolving. As organisations navigate social, economic, and technological shifts, the leaders who thrive will be those who can diagnose challenges, experiment with solutions, and engage teams in the adaptation process.
For students, educators, and community leaders, the key takeaway is clear: leadership is within reach for those who actively cultivate self-awareness, seek feedback, embrace followership, and foster environments that support development. Whether through solicited feedback, wins, structured reflection, intentional experimentation, top-down learning, or bottom-up practice—leadership development is a continual journey of deliberate, intentional growth.
Further reading, podcasts, and talks by the panel:
- Scott Allen
Phronesis: Practical Wisdom for Leaders: https://practicalwisdom.buzzsprout.com
- Ronald Riggio
Psychology Today: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/contributors/ronald-e-riggio-phd
- Ruchi Sinha.
TED Talks: 3 steps to getting what you want in a negotiation: https://hbr.org/2022/01/are-you-being-influenced-or-manipulated
Personal website: https://www.ruchisinha.com
References
Chaleff, I. (2003). The courageous follower: Standing up to and for our leaders (2nd ed.). Berret-Koehler Publishers, Inc.
Johnson, B. (1992). Polarity management: Identifying and managing unsolvable problems. HRD Press.
Riggio, R. E. (2020). Daily Leadership Development: 365 Steps to Becoming a Better Leader. BookBaby.
Talking Leadership Development Series Will Explore These Key Themes
Defining Leadership: Challenging traditional notions and exploring diverse viewpoints on what leadership truly means. Leadership is recognised as a multifaceted phenomenon that varies across cultures, industries, and contexts.
Leadership Development Goals: Examining the aims and objectives driving leadership development initiatives, questioning the true intentions behind these programs, and distinguishing between educating, training, and developing leaders.
Challenges and Opportunities: Addressing the real-world challenges faced by those nurturing future leaders, such as funding issues, lack of robust evidence, and access to research samples. The series will propose innovative solutions and provide a comprehensive overview of the current state of leadership development.
“This work is a significant step in our efforts to explore and build capability around leadership development. Through combining academic and practical perspectives, we aim to foster a deeper understanding of effective leadership in today’s dynamic world.”
Liz Gillies, CEO Menzies Leadership Foundation
