This is a special episode in recognition of World Autism Awareness Day and Autism Awareness Month in the US.

Within this special episode we will be exploring the challenges faced by employees with autism and how it could be a superpower when it comes to leadership.  Conversations around neurodiversity tend to be focused around employing and retaining autistic talent as opposed to promoting and championing this talent, such as autistic leadership.

Within this episode, we will explore the definition of Influence in conjunction with our definition for Leadership.

We will delve into the types of conformity and their link to influence and the importance of these within the working environment. After which we will consider how an individuals locus of control can impact upon their level of conformity and therefore the level of influence which they can both have or bestow. We finish by looking at Cialdini's Principles of Influence and how these can be used, in conjunction with our accepted definitions of Influence and Leadership, to improve our practice.

In this first special episode, we have a discussion with Julie Derrick, the CEO of the Valley Invicta Academies Trust (VIAT).  Having progressed through her career from a classroom teacher all the way to leading the trust of schools, on the way raising the standards of the schools in the trust and achieving Outstanding Ofsted's for many of the schools within her remit.  We discuss topics including;

- The values she holds personally which others buy in to and resonate with.

- The biggest challenges she has faced within her time in leadership.

- How she was able to approach balancing her career with her home life.

- What is has been like to set a legacy and lead through her succession.

Within this episode, we look to learn from leaders who have a proven track record of success.

We complete our exploration of motivational theory linked to leadership.  We complete our 3-part mini-series by looking Inyo four final studies into motivational theory; Locke and Latham’s Theory of Goal Setting (1968), Alderfer’s ERG Theory (1969), Urwick’s Theory Z (1969) and Argyris’s Theory (1971).

As we know this is one of the hardest things to get right, so we look to bring together the 12 pieces of research to help us gain an understanding of how we can implement the research within our leadership practice.  If we can work hard to develop the environment for encouraging intrinsic motivation, then not only will we develop ourselves, but more so those within our charge and the organisation will benefit as a whole.

We continue to explore motivational theory in order to help our practice,  this is one of the hardest things to get right yet one of the most important aspects of leadership.  We review four further studies in order to try to gain an understanding of what drives the members of our team and determines the outcomes of our team as a whole.

In the second episode of the 3-part mini-series we will explore four further key studies into motivational theory; McClelland's Theory of Needs (1961), Vroom's Theory of Expectancy (1964), Porter and Lawlor's Expectancy Theory (1968) and Edward Deci's Research into Externally Mediated Rewards on Intrinsic Motivation (1971).

Motivation is one of the hardest things to understand in others and one of the easiest thing to destroy, yet it is also one of the things leaders tend to get wrong.  One of the key things to do is explore motivational theory and use what we can find to help us in our practice.

In the first of a new 3-part mini-series we will explore four key studies into motivational theory; Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs (1943), Harlow’s Intrinsic Motivation (1949), Herzberg’s Two-Factor Theory (1959) and McGregor’s Theory X and Theory Y (1960).

Within this episode, we will explore the concept of self-awareness, what it actually is and the role it takes within leadership.

Starting with the definition being "a conscious knowledge of one’s own character and feelings" we then delve into the levels of self-awareness.  We consider the role of self-awareness in terms of consciousness and how self-awareness can be both positive as well as negative; leading to anxiety and depression.  We look at self-reflection and self-evaluation as key contributors to developmental progress and growth.  We bring in the role of feedback and how this can influence the development of others in terms of their self-reflection.  We look at self-regulation and the role our working environment plays within this as well as the demands of the workplace.  We come to a close, reflecting on predispositions and the role self-regulation plays in addressing these.

Throughout look at the role leadership plays, in terms of the considerations leaders must have of both their own level of self-awareness as well as that of others.  Taking time out to reflect on the important role self-awareness plays within leadership, reflecting on ourselves, will increase our ability to consider others empathetically and as a result allow us to lead more effectively.

Within this pilot episode, we will explore the meaning of leadership and what it means to lead.

Leadership can be seen as comprising of the words "Leader" and "Ship", where we can see that a Leader is someone who takes a lead, and a ship is a group of people who follow.  We consider what it means to lead, rather than manage, how leadership centres around people and not tasks and how it is a two-way process centred upon shared values, goals and the "why".

We come to a close with the definition of Leadership which we will use moving forwards, from a paper written by Alberto Silva (2016) in the Journal of Business Studies;

"Leadership is the process of interactive influence that occurs when, in a given context, some people accept someone as their leader to achieve common goals."