The Shifting States of Leadership

For over a century, organizations have turned to psychology to help make sense of behavior at work. Much of what was adopted came through the Freudian tradition: fixed categories, unconscious drives, and diagnostic labels.

Alfred Adler, a contemporary of Freud, offered something very different. He argued that people are not defined by what they have been, but by the goals they are moving toward. He emphasized purpose, belonging, and contribution as the compass points that orient human striving. Those ideas, though widely recognized in psychology, have not often been translated into organizational life. The result is that many leaders still rely on tools that treat people as static “types,” even though the lived reality of work is anything but static.

From Type to State

For decades, assessments like DISC or MBTI have been used to assign categories. At first, this may seem useful. But categories rarely remain neutral. A type can quickly become a label, a label becomes a box, and boxes often invite judgment.

Once someone is described as “the analytical one” or “the driver,” their behavior is filtered through that identity. Growth that stretches beyond the label may even be doubted: “That’s not really you.” Over time, these boxes restrict potential and quietly harden into judgments such as “That’s just how she is” or “He’ll never change.”

Adler’s psychology reminds us that people are not finished products. They are always in motion, always oriented toward future goals. Categories risk freezing people in the past, while real growth depends on what they are striving to become.

Work Day Awareness® approaches this challenge differently. Instead of asking who someone is in a permanent sense, it considers where their energy is right now. Energy states shift with context, and when they are recognized, they can also be renewed and redirected. This perspective does not invite judgment. It invites awareness and choice.

Adler’s Compass in Today’s Workplace

Adler believed that mental health - and by extension, healthy leadership - rests on social interest, the sense of connection with others and the desire to make a meaningful contribution. That same compass can guide leaders today.

The questions are practical. Where are you guiding your team, and is direction more important than pedigree? Do people feel part of something larger, or do they feel like replaceable parts in a machine? Are individuals invited to bring their full energy forward, or are they left waiting to be told who they are?

These are not abstract ideals. They show up in daily interactions, in the tone of meetings, and in the way decisions are made. They are energy signals that reveal whether a culture is thriving or quietly depleting.

Energy as a Leadership Metric

Modern neuroscience affirms what Adler intuited: the brain is plastic, energy is dynamic, and behavior is shaped by context. Leaders who overlook this reality end up managing tasks rather than people. Leaders who pay attention to it create conditions where capacity is unlocked.

This is why Work Day Awareness is best understood as more than a single assessment. It functions as a way of working, a system that helps leaders and teams recognize shifting states of energy and respond in ways that sustain momentum. Labels tend to describe. Energy awareness guides. Purpose provides direction.

Questions Worth Asking

• Are you leading people as if they are fixed, or as if they are moving?

• Do the tools you use box people in, or do they open pathways forward?

• When culture begins to strain, do you ask what type of people you have, or do you ask what state of energy they are in?

Closing Reflection

Adler once wrote that we can never know what actions will characterize a person if we only know where they come from, but if we know where they are going, we can predict their steps. Leaders who embrace energy and purpose over labels are not simply managing employees. They are guiding futures.

In the end, leadership is not about the types you inherit. It is about the states you help people move toward.