| Today, I want to talk about self-regulatory focus theory |
| and how the actions of leaders can affect the way followers approach different situations. |
| Self-regulatory focus theory is a theory developed by Tori Higgins. |
| He says that a person's focus at any given time is to either approach pleasure or avoid pain. |
| These are two basic motivations that each and every one of us has, |
| and they cause us to have different kinds of goals. |
| Promotion goals in different life situations emphasise achievement. |
| Prevention goals are oriented towards the avoidance of punishment. |
| In a specific situation, |
| our thoughts might focus more on promotion goals or more on prevention goals. |
| The theory suggests that two factors affect which goals we are focusing on. |
| First, there is a chronic factor. |
| This factor is connected to a person's personality |
| and says that each person has a basic tendency to either focus more on promotion goals |
| or focus more on prevention goals as part of his or her personality. |
| Second, there is a situational factor |
| which means that the context we are in can make us more likely to focus on one set of goals or the other. |
| For example, we are more likely to be thinking about pleasure and to have promotion goals |
| when we are spending time with a friend. |
| In contrast, if we are working on an important project for our boss, |
| we are more likely to try to avoid making mistakes |
| and therefore have more prevention goals in our mind. |
| Research has shown that the goals we are focusing on at a given time affect the way we think. |
| For example, when focusing on promotion goals, |
| people consider their ideal self, their aspirations and gains. |
| They don't think about what they can lose, |
| so they think in a happier mode. |
| They feel more inspired to change. |
| When people are focusing on prevention goals, |
| they think about their "ought" self. |
| What are they supposed to be? |
| What are people expecting from them? |
| They consider their obligations to others. |
| As a result, they experience more anxiety and try to avoid situations where they could lose. |
| Now that I have talked about the two focuses and how they affect people, |
| I want to look at the idea that the way leaders behave, or their style of leading, |
| can affect the focus that followers adopt in a specific situation. |
| In talking about leadership, |
| we often mention transformational leaders and transactional leaders. |
| Transformational leaders, when interacting with their followers, focus on their development. |
| In their words and actions transformational leaders highlight change. |
| Their speech is passionate and conveys a definitive vision. |
| All of these things can encourage followers to think about what could be. |
| In other words, they inspire a promotion focus in their followers. |
| In contrast, transactional leaders focus on developing clear structures |
| that tell their followers exactly what is expected of them. |
| While they do explain the rewards people will get for following orders, |
| they emphasise more how a follower will be punished |
| or that a follower won't get rewarded |
| if his or her behaviour doesn't change. |
| In short, they emphasise the consequences of making a mistake. |
| This emphasis will clearly lead followers to focus on avoiding punishment and problems. |
| This is clearly a prevention focus. |
| In conclusion, it is important to understand that one focus is not necessarily better than the other one. |
| For a designer who works in a field where a lot of innovation is needed, |
| a promotion focus is probably better. |
| In contrast, a prevention focus which causes people to work more cautiously and produce higher quality work |
| might be very appropriate for a job like a surgeon, for example. |
| The main point of the research, though, is that the actions of leaders |
| can greatly influence whether people approach a situation |
| with more of a promotion focus or more of a prevention focus. |