The Science of
Building Leaders (SOBL)

The SOBL is a blueprint of what are the different elements that we need to develop in order to help a person become an effective leader. In our research, we have found that this is a journey that starts from birth and spans one’s entire life. At different stages of life (indicative age brackets), there are different elements (traits, skills and qualities) to develop, and focusing on these at the right stage of life will give a better chance of getting it right along the way.

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Origins of the Study

We set out the answer…

“Is there a science for effective leadership development? If so, are there patterns/trends we can replicate in order to develop others who are interested into effective leaders?”

- If leadership is something that can be developed, we want to find out whether there is a scientific way to develop effective leaders.

- Bringing together existing theories and understandings of leadership development.

Our Research Methods

Literature Review

of existing studies

Structured Interviews

for a select pool of current, local leaders and international ones.

Analysis on biographies

and accounts of famous leaders in history.

A survey to a sample of the selected leaders’ followers

will be conducted to understand how these followers perceive them, and what stands out in terms of their leadership to them.

Data analysis of information from participants

through the different programmes that Leaderonomics runs.

Articles for further depth:

For a deeper understanding of The Science of Building Leaders, please read / listen to:

The Science Of Building Leaders: Part 1
The Science Of Building Leaders: Part 2

We have a variety of articles tackling especially the elements that need to be developed in childhood:

Insights From The 2018 Leaderonomics’ Parenting Survey
The Power Of Role Models: Making Sense Of Personalities
Mastery And Cooperation: Keys To Helping Children Grow Through Competition
Developing Your Child’s Character
Shaping Young Leaders Through Role Models And Character-Building
Inculcating A Sense Of Agency Unto Children To Be A Good Leader
How To Create A Sense Of Agency In Your Young Ones

Podcasts for further depth

For a deeper understanding of The Science of Building Leaders, please listen to this podcast on:

Raise Your Game: Unveiling The Science Of Building Leaders

Do also check out the HOME podcast series.

Topics include: (more to be added over time)
- Overview of SOBL framework (episode 1)
- To what extent can parents influence their children’s personality
- How children learn best
- Developing character in children
- Instilling a growth mindset in our children
- Developing our children’s curiosity
- Why is grit so important When your child wants to quit

We have a variety of podcasts tackling some more specific elements of SOBL: BFM Raise Your Game Episodes: (2019-2020)

Agency And Its Importance In Leadership Development Being Utterly Curious, And Nurture It Throughout Life
Making The Most Of Role Models For Our Children Character - Building The Right Foundations In The Leaders Of Tomorrow
Developing a vision for self and a clear sense of purpose
Developing a vision for an organisation / group
Dealing with and prevailing Crucible moments
Secure base - what it means at different stages of life
Mentoring others / knowledge transfer
Identity Formation Building technical competencies to support vision
Driving change
Importance of sportsmanship - how to develop throughout life
Changes in personal life affecting career
Leaving a legacy
Building initial success stories
Aligning personal to organisational values
Unlocking the growth mindset at any age

The Science of Building Leaders (SOBL)