Leadership is first and foremost a relationship. And it’s not just any kind of relationship, it’s an attachment-based relationship. A relationship in which the leader’s main role is to become an attachment figure for their followers – especially under conditions of challenge, dependence or uncertainty. This idea is developed as part of the novel Attachment-Informed Leadership (AIL) framework.

Co-founded in 2026 by social neuroscientist Dr Pascal Vrticka (University of Essex) and leadership specialist Jonathan Wolf-Phillips (New Leadership Ltd), the Society for Attachment-Informed Leadership (SAIL) exists to support the development of Attachment-Informed Leadership (AIL) as a field.