The tension today in leadership cultures between direction, collaboration and delegation have never been more confusing. Only using directive behavior will clearly not work but in some situations it’s the only style that will. Collaboration is wonderful but not at the expense of too many meetings and no execution. Delegation surely is important but why is it so scary? This HBR post is excellent:
“Every organization today wants to achieve both alignment and autonomy. Can what works for birds and fish also work for people? The answer comes from a surprising place: the battlefield. Over centuries, the military has developed an approach to managing “the fog of war.” Generals need to ensure alignment to the strategy, while soldiers need autonomy to respond to changing conditions. The military’s solution has two parts: