The Best Leaders Embrace the Role of Supporting Character

Why It Matters

Main‑character energy undermines organizational performance, while supporting‑character leadership drives higher engagement and resilience—critical advantages in a rapidly AI‑augmented workplace.

Key Takeaways

• Founder mode fuels main‑character energy, eroding team trust.
• Intellectual humility and curiosity checks boost leader effectiveness.
• Supporting‑character mindset improves employee engagement and retention.
• Job crafting linked to higher performance and psychological thriving.
• AI can amplify naïve realism, making humility essential for leaders.

Pulse Analysis

The rise of "founder mode" has turned many executives into the story’s protagonist, a shift highlighted by Paul Graham’s viral essay. When leaders view their vision as the sole narrative, naïve realism takes hold—biases go unchecked, trust erodes, and employee performance drops. Gallup’s State of the Global Workplace shows manager engagement slipping from 31% in 2022 to 22% in 2025, a clear symptom of the main‑character syndrome spreading beyond tech hubs.

Research across psychology and management underscores the power of humility and curiosity. A "curiosity check"—asking what you don’t know about a colleague—reduces blind spots and sparks collaborative ideation. Studies of hospital janitors and Indian call‑center agents reveal that when leaders help workers craft personal meaning, job satisfaction, performance, and retention rise sharply. Supporting‑character energy, which places the leader in a nurturing role, translates into measurable gains: higher trust scores, lower turnover, and more innovative teams.

The AI boom intensifies these dynamics. Generative models can reinforce personal biases, making leaders even more prone to main‑character thinking. Consequently, the irreplaceable value of leadership will shift from knowledge transmission to deep human connection, mentorship, and inspiration. Executives who adopt supporting‑character habits—listening, humility, and empowering others—will safeguard their organizations against AI‑driven echo chambers and secure a competitive edge in the next decade.