I just finished digesting Sébastien Page’s The Psychology of Leadership, and there’s a concept he shares that I can’t seem to shake:
Most of us are accidentally optimizing for the wrong things.

(Come again, is what I thought to myself the first time I was introduced to this idea. But hang with me, and I’ll share the cliff-notes version, and you can determine where you land with the concept for yourself.)

Using positive psychology, sports psychology, and personality research, Page’s central framework, PERMA, identifies five dimensions of lasting fulfillment: Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishments.

Page asserts that most leaders obsess over Accomplishments while the other four dimensions (Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, and Meaning) quietly deteriorate. For example, Teams hit their numbers but lose their spark. Relationships become transactional in the process. The work feels hollow despite objective success. I have a feeling at least one of those examples might resonate with your own experiences. 

So in that vein, I wanted to share three ideas I felt might be worth adopting. Take a look and let me know which strikes a chord with you, and which you think you might try.

1. Run a PERMA Audit

Before your next meeting or planning session, test one of the goals you’re driving toward against all five of the dimensions above: Positive emotions, Engagement, Relationships, Meaning, and Accomplishments

  • Does achieving this goal create positive emotions or just temporary relief from something else?
  • Will the achievement of this goal engage our best capabilities or feel like busywork?
  • How does working toward this goal impact relationships and/or community?
  • Does this goal align with our deeper purpose?
  • Are we measuring what actually matters?

If a goal scores poorly on multiple dimensions, Page’s advice is blunt: redesign it or drop it.

2. Know When Not to Summit

Page shares a principle called “Don’t Die on Everest”, meaning sometimes the smart move is knowing when to turn back. In leadership, not every goal deserves completion if circumstances have changed.

Instead, he encourages us to ask ourselves: Which current initiative would we not start today if we were beginning from scratch? If you found one, why are you still climbing that mountain?

3. Beware What You Measure

“What you measure shapes behavior, sometimes in damaging ways”. Track only revenue? Don’t be surprised when collaboration suffers. Measure only output? Expect shortcuts and burnout.

Sometimes we forget that our metrics aren’t neutral; they’re teaching our team what we really value. (These were mic drop references for me.)


If one of these three concepts struck a chord with you, here’s your challenge:

For the next 30 days, end each week by asking: “What did I actually optimize for this week?” Not what I intended. Not what I told myself. What did my decisions and time allocation reveal about my real priorities?

The gap between who we say we are and who our choices reveal us to be shows us where our work lies.

As I concluded the book, I walked away thinking The Psychology of Leadership isn’t asking us to abandon ambitious goals. It’s asking us to get honest about the full cost of how we pursue them. And that might be the most important nugget of all.

Is it worth the read? I would say, yes, if you’re ready (or need) to have that conversation with yourself.