Happiness, the Most Underrated Skill in Leadership
Written by Mark Branson, Leadership Theorist
Mark Branson has combined 20 years of experience, 5 State Titles, and one World Record into the first advancement in leadership theory in 50 years. Branson's first book, The Illusion of Competence, introduced perception-based leadership. Branson's second book, Unified Leadership Theory (2025), advances the theory further.
I discovered The Illusion of Competence in 1999. I started studying leadership in 2013. The Illusion of Competence was 90% complete before I started my Master of Science in Leadership degree. Developing a leadership theory before learning about leadership meant that I wasn’t restricted by preconceived limiting beliefs.
I saw the same problems across stores, across companies, and then across industries. I knew there had to be natural forces at work. What I didn’t know was that current leadership doctrine did not allow for natural forces.
Current leadership philosophy takes great pleasure in proving previous philosophies wrong. Great Man Theory is the poster child for disproven leadership theories. Today’s behavior-based leadership constructs went from one extreme to the other.
Great Man Theory said that great men arose throughout history when history needed them. The problem was that the traits that made men great could not be isolated. If leadership were trait-driven, great men would be great in every leadership circumstance. Since they weren’t, it wasn’t.
Behaviorist theories held sway in the 1930s and 40s. Behaviorists believe everything you know about leadership must be taught, so much so that trait-based avenues of study are not considered, much less pursued. Behaviorists believed no aspects of leadership were innate. That view has stayed true for the past 80 years.
I knew none of this in 1999. I started creating a perception-based leadership theory because my bosses, my customers, and my employees were each driven by perceptions. These perceptions did not vary widely. Instead, they seemed to exist within common ground shared by all.
Today’s leadership is about understanding the individual. You must understand your individual emotions and the emotions of those around you. Each individual must be treated separately because each individual is different.
I saw a ‘group dynamic’ early in Unified Leadership’s development. Emotional reactions varied widely, but the underlying emotions were identical. My bosses were exactly the same. Each had their own set of priorities. Each had their own reaction when those priorities were not met, but the underlying emotional upset when priorities weren’t met was identical.
My employees were not a mystery. They wanted to do their jobs their way and have fun while they were doing it. The more freedom my employees had to do what Corporate wanted, the more likely my employees were to do it.
My customers were not a great mystery. They wanted clean stores that were easy to shop in, but most importantly, they wanted their problems solved when they arose.
Bosses, employees, and customers each have a wide range of emotional reactions, but the underlying emotions are identical. They wanted to be happy, happy to have their priorities covered, happy to have their freedom, and happy with their customer service.
Today’s behavior-based leadership constructs focus on the full range of emotions, with a need to understand individual emotions and the emotions of others. Why am I happy? Why are they sad?
Perception-based leadership focuses on base emotions like happiness, sadness, anger, and fear. You don’t need to understand what makes people sad and angry because the same things make you sad and angry.
You need to do things that make people happy. You know your boss wants their priorities covered. You know, doing so makes your boss happy, so make your boss happy. You know, freedom makes your employees happy, so give your employees freedom and make them happy. You know, solving customers’ problems makes customers happy, so solve their problems and make them happy.
Happiness is the most underrated skill in leadership. It really is that simple.
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Mark Branson, Leadership Theorist
Mark Branson set the world record for the arcade game Asteroids in 1981, playing for 55 hours in a quarter. Branson then applied his concepts of greatness to winning 5 New Mexico state racquetball titles over a 15-year career. Branson then created a leadership theory from scratch, combining 30 years of leadership experience and his habit of winning into the first advancement in leadership thought since the turn of the century.
