Caring Leadership

NPD practitioners are positioned to positively influence organi-zational outcomes. The traditional influence/leadership model based on hard skills is not sufficient. Caring leadership is needed that not only uses knowledge and evidence but is distinguished from traditional leadership by the belief that individuals are valuable resources and should be ap-preciated, respected, supported, and challenged to grow, and when combined with well-developed emotional intel-ligence to act on this belief, higher levels of staff engage-ment and satisfaction result, ultimately contributing to the success of the organization.