Conscious Leaders give people what they need

“The demands of leadership are complex, but the foundation of being a good leader is rooted in meeting the needs of those who follow them.”

Gallup (2025) Global Leadership Report: What Followers Want, p.11

Gallup’s Global Leadership Report: What Followers Want

Gallup’s (2025) Global Leadership Report: What Followers Want shared the four needs of followers from their research across 52 countries. These four needs show what followers require from their leaders. These four needs have been shown to be consistent and stable even in our volatile and uncertain world, and consistent and stable across many years of research.

The four needs of followers are:

1.        Hope: The need to feel positive about the future and for leaders to provide a clear direction

2.        Trust: The need for honesty, respect and integrity

3.        Compassion: The need to feel cared about and listened to

4.        Stability: The need for psychological safety and secure foundations during times of uncertainty

Follower needs & attributes

For each need, Gallup gives more detailed attributes (p.20):

Need: Hope

Attributes: Inspiration, vision and personal integrity; Growth, learning, development and achievement; Financial growth, support and independence

Need: Trust

Attributes: Communication, approachability and trust; Collaboration, teamwork and compromise

Need: Compassion

Attributes: Emotional intelligence, compassion and wellness; Service, altruism, mentorship and support

Need: Stability

Attributes: Stability, structure, accountability and responsibility

Linking Gallup follower needs to the Conscious Leadership Advantage

What I find interesting is the high degree of overlap between all of these needs and the attributes of conscious leaders, showing the extent to which conscious leadership makes a difference to followers.  In the next section, I've given an example of one attribute per follower need, with detail in the following paragraph to explain how conscious leaders fulfil this need.

Hope: Growth, learning, development and achievement

Conscious leaders walk the talk when it comes to growth, learning, development, and achievement. They openly acknowledge their strengths and areas for improvement without being self-deceptive or overly critical of themselves. They actively seek feedback and use it to get better, even when it's tough to hear. They are comfortable with the uncertainties that come with learning and growing.

What’s more,  conscious leaders give their team frequent and helpful feedback, allowing everyone to grow and develop together. They celebrate team achievements and credit everyone for their contributions. This approach builds a sense of hope and continuous improvement, leading to a more engaged and motivated team.

Compassion: Emotional intelligence, compassion and wellness

Conscious leaders embody every one of these attributes at the heart of this particular need. Conscious leaders are highly self-aware and successfully navigate their emotions. They understand how their feelings impact other people and can address their own feelings to reduce emotional contagion. Because they operate with empathy and compassion, they create psychological safety for their team. By prioritizing their own self-care and wellness, conscious leaders function well physically, emotionally and intellectually. This contributes to an environment where everyone feels secure and valued, so the whole team can thrive.

Trust: Communication, approachability and trust

Conscious leaders prioritise transparent and open communication, which is crucial for building and maintaining trust. They understand that autonomy helps people excel, so they trust their team to make decisions based on knowledge rather than hierarchical positions. This approach makes conscious leaders more approachable and empowers their team. Conscious leaders create a psychologically safe environment where employees feel secure enough to share ideas, concerns, and identities without fear of judgment or retaliation. This sets the expectation of trust and collaboration.

Stability: Stability, structure, accountability and responsibility

Conscious leaders are all about providing stability, structure, accountability, and responsibility. They take responsibility for themselves, not blaming others when things go wrong, nor taking undue credit for team successes. By managing their own thoughts and emotions, they maintain a steady and predictable presence. Their leadership is driven by values and integrity, which shows up as calm and responsive behaviour, rather than the reactive and impulsive behaviour driven by emotions. This stability helps create a solid, reliable environment where the people around them know what to expect and feel secure.

How can you be a more conscious leader?

The attributes of conscious leadership align with the key needs of followers per Gallup’s research. Conscious leaders deliberately and intentionally embrace hope,  compassion, trust and stability to create a supportive and thriving environment where everyone feels valued and motivated. The high degree of overlap between follower needs and conscious leadership qualities highlights the significant positive impact conscious leaders have on their teams.

One question I’ll leave you with is how might you incorporate one of these conscious leadership principles into your own life and work to make a positive difference to those around you?

If you have an event or conference coming up and you're curious about how the Conscious Leadership Advantage can elevate your people’s performance, productivity and wellbeing, book a call and let's chat.