March 30, 2021

What is the R.I.G.H.T. way to lead?

Research shows that five leadership behaviours can make a big difference for employee mental health
What is the R.I.G.H.T. way to lead?
What is the R.I.G.H.T. way to lead?

Poor employee mental health has always been an important challenge for organizations. With the recent changes the pandemic has brought, we have also seen a general downfall in many employees’ mental health and well-being. Study after study show that organizational leaders are in the best position to support employees’ mental health and well-being. Although employers recognize the social and economic damages caused by poor mental health, in most cases, they are not equipped with the skills to give the best response. The question remains: How can leaders promote psychologically healthy workplaces?

What is the R.I.G.H.T. way to lead?

To answer this question Haskayne researcher Duygu Gulseren with her colleagues Tabatha Thibault (Saint Mary’s University), Kevin Kelloway (Saint Mary’s University), Jane Mullen (Mount Allison University), Mike Teed (Bishop’s University), Stephanie Gilbert (Cape Breton University), and Jennifer Dimoff (University of Ottawa) proposed the R.I.G.H.T. leadership model and developed a measure to assess R.I.G.H.T. behaviours. They found that R.I.G.H.T. leadership behaviours are associated with positive mental health because employees feel psychologically safe to speak up under R.I.G.H.T. leadership. This model recommends five behaviours to leaders who would like to promote psychological health in their organizations. These behaviours are:

Recognizing employees. Recognition can in be in different ways. Praising a well-done job or acknowledging the value the employee brings to the team are examples of recognition.

Involving employees in decisions and processes. For example, leaders can ask their employees’ perspectives before making a decision or include them in the execution of new projects.

Providing opportunities for growth and development. Coaching employees, providing them with resources, or giving stretch assignments to employee that will require them to develop new skills can be examples of growth and development behaviours.

Stressing the importance of health and safety. Examples include advocating for employees’ health and safety in every opportunity, engaging in self-care and encouraging employees to do the same.

Fostering teamwork. Leaders can create opportunities for teamwork, emphasize the importance of collaboration and check in with their teams to eliminate roadblocks to foster teamwork.

The BRIC NS Foundation, Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada, and Canadian Centre for Advanced Leadership in Business provided financial support for this project. Interested readers can contact the researchers to learn more about their study and R.I.G.H.T. leadership. An earlier version of the paper can be accessed here.

 

References

Kelloway, E. K., Penney, S. A., & Dimoff, J. K. (2017). Leading the psychologically healthy workplace the R.I.G.H.T. way. In E. K. Kelloway, K. Nielsen, & J. Dimoff (Eds.), Leading to occupational health and safety: How leadership behaviours impact organizational safety and well-being (p. 113-127). Chichester, West Sussex, UK: John Wiley & Sons.

Gulseren, D.B., Thibault, T., Kelloway, E.K., Mullen, J., Teed, M., Gilbert, S., Dimoff, J. (conditionally accepted). R.I.G.H.T. Leadership: Scale Development and Validation of a Psychologically Healthy Leadership Model. Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences.

 

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