Command-style Leadership is risky!
In over twenty years of Coaching, I’ve worked with many organisations and businesses. Of the trends I’ve seen unfold, our thinking about Leadership – what’s good and what’s not – has changed as we’ve grown to understand the brain and how people perform at their best.
YES, command style leadership has it’s place, especially in a crisis or shutting down harmful behaviour, but as a dominant/default style, it’s risky!
The risks of command-style leadership
- People like to think, take that autonomy away and you get frustration
- People can become dependent on commands and won’t act without them
- Limits the potential of multiple brains to create better solutions
- Innovation suffers as innovation lives outside of instruction
- With less room for creative thinking, people’s development slows
- People leave from stress or boredom and that’s expensive!
But what about the Army?
Even in the Army, where command is an essential part of its effectiveness, soldiers need to think on their feet. Where once they were trained to follow orders, now they’re trained to use their initiative to achieve their orders.
Adaptive leadership is key
One style of leadership won’t cut it in a world where change is speeding up. Instead, Adaptive Leadership changes with the landscape and provides far more resiliance. Adaptive Leadership dances between various leadership styles depending on what’s needed such as Pacesetting-Style, Affiliative-Style, Collaborative-Style, Visionary-Style, Coaching-Style and – when needs must – Command-Style leadership.
Key Insights:
Command style leadership as a dominant and default style will stifle performance and burn people out
Adaptive leadership means adapting your style to meet the changing landscape – this is far more resilient than having just one dominant style.
How does your own style of leadership need to adapt?
Photo credit: Hannah Joshua