What this article calls a superpower and exceptional leadership, I'd just call running a meeting. I'm hoping this really is not as rare as the article would imply, because it is a basic communication technique that seems to be quite common. If someone cannot control a meeting, that would get their career shut down pretty quickly based on what I've seen.
There's more to it. Indeed, it's about letting go of control in ways
that are safe and enhance function.
Emotional intelligence plus the courage and sense of legitimacy to
deploy it is powerful. I wrote about its application in cybersecurity
here [0]. I learned myself from friends working in forensic mental
health.
Some would view it as an up-management technique, but that misses
another point - that the objective is not to derail toxic control but
to further the aims of the group.
A character poster child (literally) for this is the young Princess
Leia in Deborah Chow's Obi-Wan Kenobi.
It's called "reflective practice" and is common in professions where
there is high stress and occupational trauma. TFA covers a bit more
than this and adds some interesting extras.
The obstacle for most is not the insight, but the courage and skill to
lay the room psychologically bare, without causing harm. Without
careful words it can be brutal, so techniques and safeguards are
needed to make it okay.
People who are trained in reflective dialogue expect certain lines of
questioning and are not phased when they encounter it. But it risks
"exploding" insecure or malevolent egos who rely too much on hiding
their personal ambitions and need rigit structural power dynamics to
work.
This is no wishy-washy shit. The British Army has invested a lot in
"EI", starting with officer training at Sandhurst. Ability to question
chain of command properly leads to better operation, because it builds
all-round trust.
Unfortunately a lot of people in business, who grew up on the "all-in"
MBA testosterone, struggle with this sort of thing.
I'd highly recommend attending any opportunity for reflective practice
training. I think it can help any professional.
