Exploratory Study of Polyvagal Theory and Underlying Stress and Trauma That Influence Major Leadership Approaches

Abstract

Leadership approaches have evolved to incorporate rational and non-rational processes. Traditional leadership research focused on internal and external organizational influences, but this paper underscores the need for adopting modern-day approaches for investigating leadership outcomes. Neuroscience can illuminate different cognitive effects that influence leadership. The research paper highlights the importance of attitudes towards leadership due to the complexity of modern organizational influences. The main forces highlighted are polyvagal theory, underlying stress, and trauma. A literature review provides a description of the fundamental neural and cognitive drivers of leadership. The paper also explains the findings of research studies demonstrating the correlation between neurocognitive processes and three leadership approaches: transactional, transformational and servant leadership. The discussion section elaborates these findings to determine whether insights can be applied in typical organizational settings. Lastly, the conclusion section summarizes the main deductions and explains limitations and recommendations for future exploratory investigations on rational and non-rational leadership choices. Overall, the paper attempts to justify why non-rational drivers carry equal weight as the rational influences.