For those aspiring to ascend the corporate hierarchy in the U.S., debate training might be the unexpected stepping stone you’ve been overlooking. Recent scholarly work reveals that individuals who grasp the fundamentals of debate are more likely to progress to leadership positions within American firms than their untrained peers. A primary advantage is that debate skills instil greater assertiveness in the workplace. “Debate training enhances the emergence and progression of leadership by nurturing individuals’ assertiveness, a crucial and prized leadership trait in U.S. organisations,” comments Jackson Lu, an Associate Professor at MIT and one of the researchers behind the study.
This study, grounded in two rigorous experiments, provides tangible insights into leadership development—a topic more commonly addressed through anecdotal evidence rather than systematic research. “Leadership development represents a multi-billion-dollar industry where substantial investments are made to foster leadership qualities in individuals,” explains Lu. “However, the effectiveness of these investments remains largely unquantified due to a lack of causal evidence, which is precisely what our research offers.” The paper “Breaking Ceilings: Debate Training Promotes Leadership Emergence by Increasing Assertiveness” was published Monday in the Journal of Applied Psychology. The research team included Lu, an associate professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management; Michelle X. Zhao, an undergraduate at Washington University in St. Louis’s Olin Business School; Hui Liao, a professor and assistant dean at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business; and Lu Doris Zhang, a doctoral student at MIT Sloan.
Assertiveness in the so-called attention economy is crucial. The researchers conducted two experiments to explore this. In the first experiment, 471 employees at a Fortune 100 company were randomly assigned to either a nine-week debate training program or no training at all. When examined 18 months later, those who had undergone debate training were approximately 12 percentage points more likely to have ascended to leadership roles, a development attributed to their increased assertiveness.
A second experiment involved 975 university participants randomly assigned to either debate training, an alternative non-debate training, or no training. Mirroring the first experiment’s findings, those who received debate training were more likely to take on leadership roles in subsequent group activities, which was directly linked to their enhanced assertiveness. “The inclusion of a non-debate training condition in our study allowed us to assert with confidence that it was specifically the debate training, and not just any training, that fostered assertiveness and facilitated leadership emergence,” notes Zhang.
To some, fostering assertiveness may not seem beneficial in an organisational context, as it could heighten tensions or undermine cooperation. However, the American Psychological Association defines assertiveness as “an adaptive style of communication where individuals express their feelings and needs clearly, while still respecting others.” Lu elaborates: “Assertiveness should not be confused with aggressiveness. There’s a way to voice your opinions in meetings or classrooms without being overbearing. You can pose questions and articulate your views politely yet effectively. This is starkly different from remaining silent.”
Furthermore, in today’s world, where garnering attention is a competitive endeavour, honing communication skills is more crucial than ever. “From eliminating unnecessary filler words to mastering the pace of speech, learning how to express our views makes us appear more leader-like,” adds Zhang. The study also underscores that debate training is beneficial across different demographics, showing no significant variances in its impact based on gender, national origin, or ethnicity. However, the findings also prompt further inquiries regarding how companies identify leaders. While individuals may be motivated to pursue debate training and other general workplace skills, there is an overarching question about the extent of a firm’s responsibility to recognise and value their employees skills and communication styles. We stress that the responsibility for breaking through leadership barriers shouldn’t lie with individuals,” Lu asserts. “Organisations must also recognise and value different styles of communication and leadership in the workplace.” Lu also points out the need for ongoing research to determine whether firms adequately appreciate the attributes of their leaders. “There’s a crucial distinction between leadership emergence and leadership effectiveness,” concludes Lu. “While our study focuses on the former, it’s equally important to consider that better listeners, more cooperative, and humbler might also be better leaders, warranting their selection for leadership roles.”
More information: Jackson Lu et al, Breaking ceilings: Debate training promotes leadership emergence by increasing assertiveness., Journal of Applied Psychology. DOI: 10.1007/s00394-023-03123-x
Journal information: Journal of Applied Psychology Provided by Massachusetts Institute of Technology