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"Remarkable" behaviours are produced when a leader incorporates both strength and warmth into their repertoire, making them workplace "catalysts", a leadership specialist says.

"In science, a catalyst is a substance that is introduced to spark a reaction and cause a release of energy, but is not itself consumed in the process," says Xtraordinary Leaders founder and CEO Gerard Penna.

"In a similar way, catalysing leaders spark a reaction without being consumed, seeing their role as unleashing the efforts of others rather than doing the work themselves."

In doing so, these leaders support employees and encourage them to approach a challenging task without shifting responsibility from the employee, Penna says in his new book, Xtraordinary...