What is the definition of Leadership? Haslam, Alvesson, and Reicher (2024) define it as “the process whereby one or more people motivate one or more other people to contribute to the achievement of collective goals (of any form) by shaping beliefs, values, and understandings in context.” This highlights that leadership is fundamentally about the relationships and connections they build with others, and that positive organisational impact comes from the actions of the group, not just individual performance.
That said, most leadership development programmes still focus on developing the individual leaders’ skills in isolation, with little consideration for the group those individuals are meant to lead. As Kaiser and Curphy (2013) argue, the industry has largely failed to show a meaningful link between leadership training and organizational performance. Leadership development is rarely evaluated based on its effect on team motivation or team output – the drivers of business success.
It is no surprise then, that many HR and organisational leaders admit their current bench strength is insufficient to support future needs, despite continued investment in leadership development.
Rather than focusing solely on improving individual capabilities to climb the career ladder, leadership programmes should help leaders understand how to motivate their teams and drive results together. Leaders should be challenged to ask, “Why would anyone follow me?” (Kaiser and Curphy, 2013), especially now, when generational shifts are redistributing the power dynamic away from the leader.
With Arvoki, that question is answered in multiple ways:
- Because I am part of a network of peers who help me explore the most pressing challenges we face as a team, and how to deal with them.
- Because I can consequently clearly communicate context and purpose – why we are doing what we are doing, and why it matters.
- Because I collaborate to solve real problems, and hence truly help the team achieve results that matter.
- Because I learn to be an adaptive leader, able to evolve alongside my team’s challenges, needs, goals, and aspirations.
Arvoki is centred on addressing real concerns group leaders are facing in their organisations, so it naturally brings team dynamics into focus. We know there are countless executives struggling with team issues every day: how to form strong teams, how to keep them going, how to adapt them when things shift (Kaiser and Curphy, 2013). Arvoki provides a platform for peer-based mentoring on this front – support from people who get it, because they are going through it too. It therefore helps leaders understand how to work with their teams, build them, support them, and help them perform better.
It is also a space where meaningful relationships and connections form, the kind that leaders need to build with their own teams. Arvoki creates the conditions for trust and connection and prepares leaders for their most important task: to actively shape success.
References
Haslam, S. A., Alvesson, M., & Reicher, S. D. (2024). Zombie leadership: Dead ideas that still walk among us. The Leadership Quarterly, 35(1), 101770. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.leaqua.2023.101770
Kaiser, R. B., & Curphy, G. (2013). Leadership development: The failure of an industry and the opportunity for consulting psychologists. Consulting Psychology Journal: Practice and Research, 65(4), 294–302. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035460
First published on LinkedIn on May 8, 2025
