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  • March–April 2023
  • Article
  • 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
  • Format:Print
  • | Pages:10
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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.

Keywords

Leadership Style; Groups and Teams; Organizational Structure

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.
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About The Author

Francesca Gino

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
→More Publications

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More from the Authors
  • Authentic First Impressions Relate to Interpersonal, Social, and Entrepreneurial Success By: David M. Markowitz, Maryam Kouchaki, Francesca Gino, Jeffrey T. Hancock and Ryan L. Boyd
  • Mellody Hobson at Ariel Investments By: Lakshmi Ramarajan and Francesca Gino
  • Ed Catmull: Lessons from Leading Pixar Animation Studios By: Francesca Gino, Linda Hill, Gary Pisano and Ruth Page
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