Exploring the Positive Impact of Secure Base Leadership: Thriving at Work as a Mediator Between High-Performance Human Resource Practices and Innovative Behavior, by Jonathan H. Westover PhD

Abstract: This research brief explores the concept of secure base leadership and its potential role in mediating the relationship between strategic human resource practices and employee innovation and thriving. Secure base leadership, grounded in attachment theory, involves caring, trusting relationships where leaders act as a safe haven to help employees feel supported taking risks. The brief reviews literature demonstrating links between secure base leadership and employee thriving, as well as between HR practices and innovation. It proposes that secure base leadership may play an important mediating role by cultivating the psychological safety and vitality conditions under which employees can truly thrive amid complexity and change. Practical strategies for fostering secure base leadership in technology firms and healthcare providers are discussed. The brief aims to spark interest in further examining how attentive, empathic leadership can help transform work cultures and maximize the human potential benefits of strategic HR systems.

Episode Transcript

Exploring the Positive Impact of Secure Base Leadership (00:00):
Thriving at Work as a Mediator Between High-Performance Human Resource Practices and Innovative Behavior Abstract

(00:22):
Secure base leadership,grounded in attachment theory,
involves caring,trusting relationships where leaders act as a safe haven to help employees feel supported taking risks.
The brief reviews literature demonstrating links between secure base leadership and employee thriving,
as well as between HR practices and innovation.

(00:44):
It proposes that secure base leadership may play an important mediating role by cultivating the psychological safety and vitality conditions under which employees can truly thrive amid complexity and change.
Practical strategies for fostering secure base leadership in technology firms and healthcare providers are discussed.

(01:05):
The brief aims to spark interest in further examining how attentive,
empathic leadership can help transform work cultures and maximize the human potential benefits of strategic HR systems.
As a management consultant and researcher focused on human relations,
performance,and organizational culture,fostering innovative,

(01:27):
high-performing workplaces has been a passion of mine throughout my career.
Recently,I have become fascinated with the construct of "secure base leadership" - an emerging leadership style with strong theoretical and empirical support that appears uniquely positioned to mediate between strategic human resource practices and desirable employee outcomes like innovation and thriving.

(01:49):
In this research brief,we will explore secure base leadership and its theoretical underpinnings,
how secure base leadership may play an important mediating role,
and offer examples of how this leadership style could be fostered in common organizational contexts and industry settings.
Introducing Secure Base Leadership The concept of secure base leadership originated from attachment theory,

(02:15):
which posits humans have an innate need to feel secure and protected when exploring or taking risks (Bowlby,
1969).
Applied to organizations,a secure base leader provides that protective support,
acting as a "safe haven" employees can return to for perspective or reassurance during times of uncertainty or anxiety (Mikulincer & Shaver,

(02:40):
2007).
Through consistent caring,trustworthiness,and availability,
secure base leaders help buffer stress and promote brave risk-taking that fuels creative problem-solving and innovative behaviors (Davidovitz et al.
, 2007).
A secure base leader focuses on genuinely understanding each employee's perspective and experiences rather than dictating solutions from above.

(03:08):
They empower self-directed growth through active listening,
thoughtful questions,and heartfelt affirmation rather than rigid directives.
This empowers employees to feel secure enough to bravely push boundaries of their capabilities (Hill & Lineback,
2011).
By facilitating a psychologically safe space where failures lead to learning rather than punishment,

(03:33):
a secure base culture inspires innovative thinking at its source.

Securing Thriving Through Secure Base Leadership Research suggests secure base leadership fosters an important employee outcome (03:37):
thriving at work.
Spreitzer et al.
(2005) define thriving as simultaneously experiencing a sense of learning and vitality in one's work.
Learning involves developing knowledge and expanding capacities,

(04:02):
while vitality represents feeling energized and full of physical,
emotional,and mental energy.
Secure base leaders promote thriving through their caring, availability, and empowering approaches.
Specifically,a secure base leader makes employees feel valued through supportive coaching that facilitates growth and skill acquisition (Hill & Lineback,

(04:25):
2011).
Their willingness to understand different viewpoints without judgment encourages exploration of new ideas and capabilities (Davidovitz et al.
, 2007).
This builds learning.
Additionally,the reassurance of having a safe haven with one's leader reduces stress,

(04:47):
freeing mental and emotional bandwidth to fully engage challenges (Mikulincer & Shaver,
2007).
Their affirmation of brave risks reinforces vitality (Sbarra & Hazan, 2008).
Empirical research supports these theoretical links.
Studies show a secure base leadership style positively correlated with employee thriving (Hammon,

(05:13):
2018;
Rosso et al.
, 2010).
Furthermore,secure base leaders appear uniquely positioned to facilitate thriving across diverse,
multi-generational workforces through their focus on universal human needs rather than surface characteristics (Hill & Fraser,

(05:34):
2014).
In this way,secure base leadership represents a promising means of cultivating thriving,
with associated benefits to innovation and performance.

From HR Practices to Innovation (05:46):
The Mediating Path of Secure Base Leadership A wealth of research shows strategic human resource (HR) practices are linked to increased innovation within organizations.
Specific HR practices demonstrated to support innovation include selective staffing to attract creative talent,

(06:07):
challenging job designs giving autonomy and impact,
competitive compensation rewarding risk-taking,and robust training promoting exploration of new ideas (Subramony et al.
, 2018).
However,the process from HR practices to innovation is complex with many potential intervening factors (Jiang et al.

(06:30):
, 2012).
Recent models suggest employee thriving may play an important mediating role between strategic HR and desirable outcomes like innovation (Vough et al.
, 2018).
Thriving employees experience vitality and learning that fuels generative,
exploratory thinking (Spreitzer & Porath,2014).

(06:54):
Building on this,I propose secure base leadership is uniquely positioned as a mediator between high-performance HR systems and innovation.
Strategic HR cultivates the conditions for innovation,
but secure base leadership provides the reassuring interpersonal mechanisms that allow employees to not only survive but truly thrive amid complexity and change.

(07:18):
Through their emphasis on caring,empowerment and facilitation of learning,
secure base leaders activate the vitality and curiosity thriving represents (Hammond et al.
, 2018).
This mediates the impact of HR systems on innovative behaviors within organizations.

Fostering Secure Base Leadership (07:38):
Industry Examples To explore how secure base leadership might be nurtured in practice,

I will discuss two common organizational contexts (07:46):
technology firms and healthcare providers.
Insights from each industry can spark new ideas.

Technology (07:56):
Fast-paced tech companies need innovation to thrive,
yet competition and high-stakes projects fuel stress.
Training leaders in secure base techniques like active listening and affirming failures as learning can foster psychological safety.
Pairing new hires with veteran "buddies" provides secure bases of support during steep learning curves.

(08:21):
Regular skip-level meetings where direct reports openly share concerns with executives,
not just praise,protects leaders' availability as havens.

Healthcare (08:32):
Caregiver burnout plagues many providers yet quality care demands innovation.
Designating secure base "coaches" for new nurses or doctors protects time for empathy and understanding during onboarding.
Interprofessional secure base training builds bridges across disciplines.
Resource teams with diverse backgrounds but shared commitments to patient-centric solutions.

(08:57):
Schedule lighter duties after tough cases,paired with supportive debriefs from leaders,
maintains vitality.
Overall,cultivating awareness of leaders' attachment-supporting behaviors through selection,
training and modeling holds promise for fostering thriving workplaces across industries.

(09:18):
Conclusion This research brief has introduced secure base leadership as a construct with strong theoretical and empirical foundations for promoting thriving and innovative behaviors within organizations.
By focusing on understanding diverse perspectives,
empowering growth through facilitation rather than directives,

(09:38):
and providing a consistent safe haven,secure base leaders appear uniquely able to mediate between strategic HR practices and desirable outcomes.
Further, their emphases on universal human needs may support thriving across diverse workforces.
Drawing from technology and healthcare examples,fostering secure base leadership through selection,

(10:02):
training,policy design and cultural modeling shows promise.
Overall,nurturing workplaces where innovation and thriving emerge from a foundation of empathic connection represents an exciting avenue for supporting sustainable organizational performance.
Future research deepening our understanding of mechanisms and applications could help business and HR leaders implement evidence-based strategies to positively transform how people experience work.