Wharton Professor Stew Friedman's Total Leadership Framework
Wharton Professor Stewart Friedman’s four domains of leadership
There’s a long-held notion that leaders must put their careers and companies first to succeed, even if that means sacrificing other areas of their lives.
But Stewart Friedman, organizational psychologist and Wharton School professor, says great leaders have commitments and devotions to other parts of their lives than work. Doing more than just work gives them the strength and persistence to overcome all the obstacles required to impact the world.
It’s a concept Stewart calls Total Leadership, which centers on three principles: being real, being whole, and being innovative. Stewart created this framework after years of research and working with Ford and has trained thousands of leaders to develop themselves in more than just their on-the-job training.
Stewart’s research shows that as leaders integrate the different parts of their lives for mutual gain, they grow as leaders. As you improve yourself in one area of your life, such as at home or in the community, your performance also improves in other areas.
To develop in the first area of being real, Stewart encourages leaders to articulate their values, the stories of where they came from, and what shaped their values. To think through this process, leaders write down and share their leadership vision, look at various areas of their lives, and define how important each one is to them.
From there, leaders can practice being whole by identifying the most important people in their lives and careers, such as family, friends, coworkers, and community members. Stewart says identifying these people and considering what you expect from them and what they expect from you helps engage in a dialogue that strengthens relationships.
For the last principle of being whole, Stewart recommends that leaders continually experiment with how things get done. This means designing and implementing experiences to create value at work, at home, in the community, and for themselves. The goal is to make and measure change.
These three exercises develop the three foundational areas of total leadership and help leaders grow in all aspects of their lives. Knowing what’s important is being real, knowing who is important is being whole, and continually trying new ways to serve interests that are important to you is being innovative.
Stewart’s research shows that people with diverse interests in their lives, meaning they focus on more than work, tend to be happier and more successful.
But Stewart points out that the goal isn’t to find a balance between all the areas of life because it implies you have to give something up to get something else. Instead, he thinks about it as creating harmony and integration. Each domain of life is part of a jazz quartet making beautiful music together. Each player has their own instrument, but they interact and respond to the other instruments. Sometimes instruments rest so other music can be heard. But when they integrate and harmonize, they create a beautiful song.
How can leaders start developing total leadership? Stewart says the most important thing is defining your core values and what matters most. That purpose and vision will guide all your other interactions and relationships.
Modern leaders must be total leaders who integrate and improve in all areas of their lives. Your happiness and success will grow as you work to define your values and be real, whole, and innovative.