• Agile Transformation

How is leadership actually provided here?

You sit in a consultation and it strikes you immediately. Not so much because of what is said, but who says it. And what happens next. Who sets the agenda? Who ties the knot when things get tense? Is space made for new ideas? Often within minutes you can sense which leadership is dominant. The previous blog focused on that initial feeling: what does it actually feel like here? In this blog, we go one layer deeper. Because that feeling doesn’t happen by accident. It is reshaped every day. By leadership.

I have met many leaders in my career. With titles, without titles, formal and informal. What they had in common? They were rarely aware of what behaviors they were reinforcing. And yet that is exactly what leadership does. Every day. Not in big speeches, but in small choices.

This is just as true for me, by the way. Before I was aware of the different options out there, I had long chosen a dominant way of leadership. Because that one felt natural. ‘Collaborate & connect’ is my natural preference. Nothing wrong with that. But I also learned: that alone won’t get everything moving.

So in this article, let’s look together at the four ways leaders provide direction and what impact that can have on the culture within the organization.

Four ways leaders take direction

I believe less and less in leadership as a style, and more and more in leadership as an effect. As far as I’m concerned, it’s not so much about: what does the leader think is important? But all the more about: what happens because of the leader’s behavior?

Indeed, leadership is never neutral. It pushes, consciously or unconsciously, toward one or more cultural values. And when it does push, it is helpful to know what the natural leadership preference is within the organization. And to critically examine whether that preference is what is needed now.

1. Giving direction by innovating and discovering

Leaders create space. They encourage experimentation and accept uncertainty. That can be enormously powerful in complex environments, but it also requires something of people: dealing with ambiguity.

Ask yourself:

• Does this form of leadership energize you?
• Or do you sometimes long for more to hold on to?

2. Giving direction by performing and winning

Here, goals give direction. Results speak. Decisions are made on impact. This provides focus and pace, but can also create tension when everything must be measurable.

Ask yourself:

• Does this clarity help you stay sharp?
• Or do you especially feel pressure?

3. Giving direction by controlling and securing

Leaders provide structure. They monitor agreements and create predictability. This is indispensable in many contexts, but can also slow down innovation.

Ask yourself:

• Does this give you peace and confidence?
• Or do you find that initiative is inhibited?

4. Giving direction by collaborating and connecting

Leaders are coaching and engaged. They invest especially in relationships. This increases safety and commitment, but also requires focus when making difficult decisions.

Ask yourself:

• Do you feel seen by this leadership?
• Or do you sometimes miss direction?

The real question about culture and leadership

The real question is not: which way is better? The question is: which way is dominant now and what does that mean? When leadership pushes mainly one way, other cultural values remain underexposed. And that is exactly where the frictions we later call “resistance” often arise. Perhaps this is why this is the most honest reflection: which way of leadership is helping us now and which should we be allowed to add more consciously?

Do you need an experienced outside perspective to answer that question? I would be happy to get in touch with you. Would you first prefer to go in-depth yourself about culture within your organization? Then click here and discover all about our campaign on culture in organizations.