The Natural Leader Blog

The Traitors – Lessons In Leadership

9th January 2025

As someone fascinated by the role of human connection and communication in leadership and its outstanding ability to both to influence and align others, the current series of the traitors is a tantalizing viewing treat for me.  I simply cannot watch it without viewing it through the lens of my profession and my passion.
The lessons that unfold in the programme for any leader are fascinating.  This is just some of what I see.

  • A common goal leads to greater performance. Let’s begin with the whole concept. Quite simply everyone in the programme has a shared, clear goal. The clearer the common goal, the more aligned the collective and the individual team member around it, the higher the team performance and the likelihood of success. Common sense and so often overlooked in its importance.
  • Understanding the power of influence. Effective leaders must hone the ability to persuade others, even if the cause is contentious. Being proficient in understanding the power of adapting their delivery – from words, body language, thoughts and communication habits – in order to have differing impacts (e.g. a Welsh accent) is the super power of the successful traitors and faithfuls.  They must know how to frame and deliver arguments to align with shared values and goals.
  • Crisp, clear messaging delivering with gentle authority. If ever you wish to see a professional communicator at work, then look no further than Claudia. Watch how she uses her body, breath and voice to hold an intoxicating personal presence with the players. Watch how she delivers one thought with one breath. No hesitation. A measured pace. Perfectly pitched to her audience and environment. Her crisp use of consonants and her measured energy in delivery. What is the impact on you as you watch or listen? Do people listen and she speaks? (This is also a huge part of the work we do at the natural leader).
  • The cost of over-reaching ambition. Did Armani get too confident? Was that her downfall? Excessive ambition or fear can blind leaders to long-term impacts. Leaders must cultivate and maintain acute self-awareness and resilience to avoid destructive overreach.
  • Timing vs opportunity. When Kas made a toast to a team member over breakfast, the opportunity seemed perfect and the intention seemed genuine but the timing worked against him. Opportunism must be paired with integrity. Short-term gains should not compromise long-term trust or ethical standing.
  • Listening to descendence and building consensus. Hearing all the voices and perspectives in the system, including the quiet or unpopular voices is vital. The leader’s role is to listen to each individual and to what the system is saying as a whole. Then to employ transparency and perspective sharing in building consensus.
  • Addressing grievance early. Having the chat in the kitchen with the person who may vote for you in the round table that evening, is important.  Leaders must balance conviction with pragmatism. Address grievances within your team to prevent betrayal stemming from unmet expectations.
  • Leveraging inside knowledge. As they say, ‘knowledge is power’ and ‘with power comes great responsibility’. New knowledge is new information into the system. It demands the leader to re-evaluate. Leaders are constantly reviewing, respecting and safeguarding critical information and anticipating vulnerabilities in their plans. Adaptability IS resilience.
  • The importance of legacy and perception. Leaders pay huge attention, at all times to the perceptions of others, about them.  Where there is misalignment, the leadership work appears. Perception and indeed reputation is the collection of perceptions and beliefs that are held by others, about you.  Ideally, these align to the perceptions and beliefs you want them to hold.  Leaders always consider how their actions, even when justified, will sit with their values and their integrity and how they will be perceived by history and stakeholders.
  • Understanding what it is to be human. What we think, affects what we feel and what we do.  Effective leaders understand that as humans we are one, connected system. They also understand human motives, emotions, and fears. They are able to ‘go on a gut feel’ when it requires. They use all their leadership intelligence, whether that is from their head, their heart or their body. Whatever their work here, they constantly balance ethical boundaries to govern these insights.

Leadership is not a game, of course.  To my mind it is both a precious opportunity and a huge responsibility to enable every individual to fly. To ‘be’ at their best in order that they can ‘do’ their best in service of a common goal. 

We, so often forget the role of a leader in enabling the ‘being’ of others, which is why we created The Natural Leader.  Re-learning the art, skills and techniques of being a human-centric leader is what we do because it optimises healthy and enduring leadership. No where is the role of exceptional communication and connection in effective leadership more obvious or more entertaining to watch than in the current series of The Traitors.