Publications
Publications
- March–April 2023
- Harvard Business Review
You Need Two Leadership Gears: Know When to Take Charge and When to Get Out of the Way
By: Lindy Greer, Francesca Gino and Robert Sutton
Abstract
The debate about the best way to lead has been raging for years: Should you empower your people and get out of their way, or take charge and push them to do great work? The answer, say the authors, is to do both. Their research shows that effective leaders routinely shift between these two seemingly opposing modes—and build teams whose members are good at switching back and forth too.
Sometimes teams need divergent thinking (during idea generation, for instance); at others, they need convergent thinking (to, say, make a decision and map out next steps). Leaders must be crystal clear about which mode is appropriate when. They have to make it psychologically safe for people to speak up, contribute, and argue, and when it’s time to end the discussion and act, signal that they’re taking charge again.
There are four ways to increase the ability to shift modes: Question your assumptions about power and fixed hierarchies. Study your habits and your team’s to see if you’re stuck in one mode or the other. Set clear expectations with meeting agendas and rituals that mark transitions. And reinforce shifts with your own words, deeds, and body language.
Sometimes teams need divergent thinking (during idea generation, for instance); at others, they need convergent thinking (to, say, make a decision and map out next steps). Leaders must be crystal clear about which mode is appropriate when. They have to make it psychologically safe for people to speak up, contribute, and argue, and when it’s time to end the discussion and act, signal that they’re taking charge again.
There are four ways to increase the ability to shift modes: Question your assumptions about power and fixed hierarchies. Study your habits and your team’s to see if you’re stuck in one mode or the other. Set clear expectations with meeting agendas and rituals that mark transitions. And reinforce shifts with your own words, deeds, and body language.
Keywords
Citation
Greer, Lindy, Francesca Gino, and Robert Sutton. "You Need Two Leadership Gears: Know When to Take Charge and When to Get Out of the Way." Harvard Business Review 101, no. 2 (March–April 2023): 76–85.