How (un)healthy is your leadership? A fresh look at the science behind leadership and well-being

You’ve probably heard it many times before: good leadership is crucial for employee well-being. But what does that really mean? And more importantly: how solid is the scientific evidence that supports this link? In this article, we’ll take you on a fresh and critical journey into the relationship between leadership and well-being. No simple slogans, but an honest look at the facts — and the pitfalls.

💡 Why this matters

In a time when burnout and stress complaints are high, many organizations focus on leadership training to improve employee well-being. Logical, right? But... how do we actually know for sure that leadership really has such a big influence on well-being? Scientific research does show strong correlations, but the question is: how reliable are these correlations really?

🔍 What do we know from science?

One of the most popular leadership styles in research is transformational leadership . Leaders who inspire, coach, give autonomy. Sounds great — and in many studies you also see that this type of leadership is associated with more enthusiasm, satisfaction and less stress.

But there are caveats:

• Many studies use questionnaires , where employees themselves fill in how good their manager is and how they feel. This is useful, but also risky: this method is full of possible distortions.

• Consider social desirability (people give the 'desired' answer) and attribution bias (we are more likely to attribute our stress to “a bad manager” than to work pressure or problems at home).

• Also, many studies are cross-sectional : one snapshot. With that, you can't really establish cause and effect.

⚠️ The role of the leader is important, but not all-determining

It is tempting to think: "We invest in leadership, and then well-being will automatically be fine." But that is too simplistic. Well-being is a combination of factors: work pressure, private life, team dynamics, autonomy, organizational culture... and yes, also the leader.