‘The Sixth Level’ presents a new way of thinking about women’s leadership

In 1943, the psychologist Abraham Maslow published his theory on human motivation, famously encapsulated in his hierarchy of needs. Maslow’s idea was that once humans met their most basic physiological needs, such as food, water, and housing, they could begin to strive for higher needs, including safety, belonging, esteem, and, ultimately, self-actualization.

But The Sixth Level: Capitalize on the Power of Women’s Psychology for Sustainable Leadership—a new book co-authored by St. Louis executive Rachel Wallis Andreasson—argues that Maslow’s hierarchy doesn’t reach high enough.

The Sixth Level challenges leaders to go beyond Maslow’s model and reach for a sixth level: self-in-relation, which is based on human connections. The book’s thesis is that strong leaders create empathy by encouraging individuals to learn about themselves and the world around them through another person’s eyes. The book challenges patriarchal views of male leadership, while focusing on shared qualities among women that can pave the way to enable more effective leaders.

Wallis Andreasson, executive director of St. Louis’ Congregation Temple Israel synagogue, is one of The Sixth Level’s co-authors. The book uses the narratives of more than a dozen leaders to support the research of fellow authors Dr. Kathy K. Overbeke, Dr. Stacy Feiner, Dr. Jack Harris. Using those stories, the writers highlight four core differentiators that are borne of women’s psychology, including: 

• Mutuality: the ability to have a shared understanding about yourself and the world around you through connection.
• Ingenuity: the ability to solve complex problems with novel solutions that serve the interests of many.
• Justness: the ability to elevate fairness and eliminate the misuse of power in the workplace.
• Intrinsic motivation: your personal emotional drive to go above and beyond your own self-interest because you know that there is a beneficial outcome to the greater community.

“The book explains each of these four core differentiators, along with the outcomes leaders can expect to receive if they implement these ideas,” Wallis Andreasson says.

Wallis Andreasson believes the book provides a new leadership model that is more empathetic, caring, and better for business.

“It’s a groundbreaking model,” Wallis Andreasson says. “Women’s psychology was not used in previous leadership models. This is a book for men and women that presents a new way of looking at leadership, with self-in-relation at the core.”

In addition to the work of Wallis Andreasson, who is also a board member of her local family business, Wallis Companies, The Sixth Level features insights from St. Louis leaders. Ali Kindle Hogan, founder and chairperson of Rung for Women, wrote the foreword. Personal stories from local executives Karen Grasso, who discusses the benefits of cultivating a caring and nurturing company culture, and Lisa Lochner, who shares how her “One Heart, One Team” mantra helped build cohesion at ​​Missouri Baptist Sullivan Hospital, also illustrate how leaders have executed strategies related to the four core differentiators. 

“We have a lot of testimonials in the book,” Wallis Andreasson says. “If you follow these people on LinkedIn, you’ll see that a lot of them are saying the same things: How do we move forward in a more just, equitable, and humane way? We feel that The Sixth Level addresses an actual model for how to do it.”