Today’s workplace is very different from what it was fifty years ago. Globalization has created a rich, complex, and diverse working environment that requires teamwork and effective communication. People from all over the world with many different backgrounds work together on a daily basis and must be willing to understand and support one another. Business leaders have always needed to understand psychology, but it has never been as crucial as it is in this day and age. Here’s how understanding psychology can make you a better boss.

Psychology Training Can Teach You How to Be a Better Boss

Although many people believe that the only job you can get with a psychology degree is a psychologist, it’s actually a very versatile degree with many applications. Psychology is helpful in fields like advertising and marketing, customer service, and business leadership. Having some training in psychology can help you learn how to become a better boss and improve outcomes within your organization.

Knowing how humans think and behave can also help you become more hirable. Business leaders with psychology training are in high demand. In fact, for professionals trained in this field job openings will increase by 14 percent, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). That’s because employers know the value of psychology training In leadership. You can be a better boss when you know how to communicate, lead effectively, and hold empathy for other employees.

Employees Need Opportunities to Evolve Constantly

Today’s worker wants fulfilling work, not just a job. They want to be able to advance in their careers, take on new challenges, and evolve in order to stay engaged. As a result, effective leaders need to be constantly looking for these opportunities for each individual employee and must be able to see beyond what employees say. Most people won’t come right out and say what they want—and they may not even know what they want in the first place—so a leader needs to be able to read between the lines and understand non-verbal clues about what their team members really need. It’s the ability to lead both groups and individuals effectively that sets great leaders apart.

Positive Psychology Promotes Growth and Can Help You Be a Better Boss

It’s not just employee fulfilment that demands constant growth and change from the workforce. The demands and job descriptions are evolving all the time and employees need to be able to keep up. In one survey of American employers, 61 percent of business leaders believed that employee job roles have transformed. It’s the leader’s responsibility to help employees grow and improve throughout their tenure at the company. A person’s abilities and enthusiasm when they’re hired shouldn’t be viewed as static. People will grow and change during employment, and leaders can leverage positive psychology to help ensure that this growth is positive.

Positive psychology helps leaders to see and develop the strengths in their employees rather than drawing too much attention to their weaknesses. Leaders can use the concepts of positive psychology to instil a “growth mindset” in their employees, which relies on effort, continual and collaborative feedback, and informal collaboration to improve. In the workplace, working toward a shared purpose can help leaders develop and guide the growth process for each individual employee.

In leadership, relationships are the most important factor. Positive psychology concepts encourage frequent communication between employees and their managers, which helps team members feel valued. In creating a productive, safe, and friendly environment, there’s nothing more powerful than regular positive and constructive communication.

Understanding Human Behaviors Can Help You Manage People Better

When you understand where people are coming from and why they do what they do, you’re better able to empathize and communicate effectively. If you’re trying to understand how to be a better boss, you first need to understand human behavior.

Once you have a good grasp of the concepts of psychology, you’ll have the tools you need to manage people more effectively. You’ll be able to reduce turnover and boost productivity by really “getting” your team’s needs and catering to them. You’ll be able to develop each employee individually, helping them to feel valued, empowered, and fulfilled. And finally, you’ll be able to develop a sense of loyalty and camaraderie among your team that leads to business growth and success. Positive psychology can be the key to effective communication and better leadership!

Andrew Deen has been a consultant for startups in almost every industry from retail to medical devices and everything in between. He is currently writing a book about scaling up business and his experience implementing lean methodology.