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How to Manage the Leadership See-Saw

Great leadership requires constant adjustments in style and approach

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Image Credit: Midjourney

Leadership is a balancing act. Almost every quality of great leaders can be overdone and its polar opposite can be needed on occasion (except for integrity). For example, being outspoken is a great quality, but there are also times to hold back from giving your point of view so that others speak first. 

Great leadership requires constant adjustments in style and approach to get the best out of a broad range of people. 

The one balancing act we speak too infrequently about is the balance between, on the one hand, knowing, doing and executing – in effect being the go-to expert who can help the team solve any problem and, on the other hand, enabling, orchestrating, and not knowing – something I call “spanning.” 

In today’s knowledge economy, expertise is highly valued. Leaders use their expertise to gain credibility, to win over the loyalty of their team, and to solve team problems. Expertise driven leaders add value because of their ability to provide answers, do the work, and control quality and risk. 

However, expertise driven leadership keeps the leader from stepping out of the details, letting the team wrestle with problems, and taking a broader view. Spanning leaders add value by focusing on priorities and direction, by connecting across the organization, and by tapping their broad network for information and perspective.

“The single biggest way to impact an organization is to focus on leadership development. There is almost no limit to the potential of an organization that recruits good people, raises them up as leaders and continually develops them.” – John Maxwell

Keeping Your Balance

Every leader needs to understand how to add value to the job, how to get the right work done, and how to interact with people. Leaders must learn to lead at times as the expert and at times as a non-expert – that is, as a spanner who can span across knowledge domains. The core challenge is how to balance the two approaches.

Karen is the Chief of Internal Audit and a deep expert in audit. She is very intelligent, highly personable, and brings much needed depth to her team. The challenge Karen faces is not about abandoning her expertise – those strengths are definitely valued. However, her company also needs her to weigh in on the broader challenges they are facing, not just represent her functional perspective. 

She needs to be able to drill deeply when necessary and quickly come back up to the 30,000-foot level. In effect, her challenge is a balancing act between the depth of expertise and the breadth of spanning.

The Spanning Checklist

  • Understand what you do that adds the greatest value to the team and organization – the things that only you can do. As an exercise, think about a leader you admire and value.  Write a list of all the things this person does that adds value to you and to the organization, especially the things that are unique to him/her and that make them so valued. Look over that list and circle the qualities you need to be practicing more often.  Note the ones you think you already do well and keep doing those.
  • How much do you really need to know? Do you need to know the details, or do you need to understand how all the parts fit together? Ask your mentors and senior leaders.
  • How much of your time and energy should be spent on being the expert and how much in the spanning space? Ask your manager and your manager’s manager how they think your time should be divided. Then monitor your time in a given week to make sure you are roughly sticking to those guidelines.
  • At times you will need to dive deeply into the details to understand a problem or to resolve a conflict. The challenge is then how to come back up to a higher level and not get stuck in the details. As you find yourself diving deeply, ask why you are doing so.  Ask yourself who else should be taking this deep dive with you or even partially on their own.  If you bring your direct report with you for each dive and each meeting, you will find it much easier to turn over work to them, because they have been on the journey with you.
  • To delegate more effectively, avoid delegating that simply dumps an issue on someone else while you remain hands off. That is ditching not delegating. Instead, jointly create a set of milestones, next steps, and a timeline with the person you are delegating a task to. Do so by asking questions, not by dictating. Then, touch base on progress at each milestone, during which time you can provide updates on new insights you have gained and you can track that work is progressing as expected. You can also give feedback along the way. 

The balancing act that great leadership requires is achievable. However, you have to be thoughtful about when the opposite of what’s in your comfort zone is needed. You cannot simply default to your preference every time.  

Dr. Wanda T. Wallace, managing partner of Leadership Forum, coaches, facilitates, and speaks on improving leadership through better conversations. She hosts the weekly radio show and podcast “Out of the Comfort Zone” and is the author of You Can’t Know It All: Leading in the Age of Deep Expertise. Learn more at leadership-forum.com, wandawallace.com, outofthecomfortzone.com.

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Success Advice

Why One-Size-Fits-All Leadership Will Always Fail (and What Works Instead)

The surprising truth about leadership styles that can make or break your team’s success.

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Why one-size-fits-all leadership doesn’t work
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Leadership has always been as much about people as it is about performance. Ken Blanchard, in his influential book, “The One Minute Manager”, put it simply: different strokes for different folks. (more…)

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Success Advice

What Every New CEO Must Do in Their First 100 Days (or Risk Failure)

Your first 100 days as CEO could define your entire legacy, here’s how to make every move count

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leadership tips for new CEO
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When Tim Cook took over from Steve Jobs at Apple, the world watched with bated breath. Jobs wasn’t just a CEO; he was a visionary, an icon, and a legend of innovative leadership. (more…)

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Entrepreneurs

The Leadership Shift Every Company Needs in 2025

Struggling to keep your team engaged? Here’s how leaders can turn frustrated employees into loyal advocates.

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Bridging the gap between employees and employers
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In workplaces around the world, there’s a growing gap between employers and employees and between superiors and their teams. It’s a common refrain: “People don’t leave companies, they leave bad bosses.”

While there are, of course, cases where management could do better, this isn’t just a “bad boss” problem. The relationship between leaders and employees is complex. Instead of assigning blame, we should explore practical solutions to build stronger, healthier workplaces where everyone thrives.

Why This Gap Exists

Every workplace needs someone to guide, supervise, and provide feedback. That’s essential for productivity and performance. But because there are usually far more employees than managers, dissatisfaction, fair or not, spreads quickly.

What if, instead of focusing on blame, we focused on building trust, empathy, and communication? This is where modern leadership and human-centered management can make a difference.

Tools and Techniques to Bridge the Gap

Here are proven strategies leaders and employees can use to foster stronger relationships and create a workplace where people actually want to stay.

1. Practice Mutual Empathy

Both managers and employees need to recognize they are ultimately on the same team. Leaders have to balance people and performance, and often face intense pressure to hit targets. Employees who understand this reality are more likely to cooperate and problem-solve collaboratively.

2. Maintain Professional Boundaries

Superiors should separate personal issues from professional decision-making. Consistency, fairness, and integrity build trust, and trust is the foundation of a motivated team.

3. Follow the Golden Rule

Treat people how you would like to be treated. This simple principle encourages compassion and respect, two qualities every effective leader must demonstrate.

4. Avoid Micromanagement

Micromanaging stifles creativity and damages morale. Great leaders see themselves as partners, not just bosses, and treat their teams as collaborators working toward a shared goal.

5. Empower Employees to Grow

Empowerment means giving employees responsibility that matches their capacity, and then trusting them to deliver. Encourage them to take calculated risks, learn from mistakes, and problem-solve independently. If something goes wrong, turn it into a learning opportunity, not a reprimand.

6. Communicate in All Directions

Communication shouldn’t just be top-down. Invite feedback, create open channels for suggestions, and genuinely listen to what your people have to say. Healthy upward communication closes gaps before they become conflicts.

7. Overcome Insecurities

Many leaders secretly fear being outshone by younger, more tech-savvy employees. Instead of resisting, embrace the chance to learn from them. Humility earns respect and helps the team innovate faster.

8. Invest in Coaching and Mentorship

True leaders grow other leaders. Provide mentorship, career guidance, and stretch opportunities so employees can develop new skills. Leadership is learned through experience, but guided experience is even more powerful.

9. Eliminate Favoritism

Avoid cliques and office politics. Decisions should be based on facts and fairness, not gossip. Objective, transparent decision-making builds credibility.

10. Recognize Efforts Promptly

Recognition often matters more than rewards. Publicly appreciate employees’ contributions and do so consistently and fairly. A timely “thank you” can be more motivating than a quarterly bonus.

11. Conduct Thoughtful Exit Interviews

When employees leave, treat it as an opportunity to learn. Keep interviews confidential and use the insights to improve management practices and culture.

12. Provide Leadership Development

Train managers to lead, not just supervise. Leadership development programs help shift mindsets from “command and control” to “coach and empower.” This transformation has a direct impact on morale and retention.

13. Adopt Soft Leadership Principles

Today’s workforce, largely millennials and Gen Z, value collaboration over hierarchy. Soft leadership focuses on partnership, mutual respect, and shared purpose, rather than rigid top-down control.

The Bigger Picture: HR’s Role

Mercer’s global research highlights five key priorities for organizations:

  • Build diverse talent pipelines

  • Embrace flexible work models

  • Design compelling career paths

  • Simplify HR processes

  • Redefine the value HR brings

The challenge? Employers and employees often view these priorities differently. Bridging that perception gap is just as important as bridging the relational gap between leaders and staff.

Treat Employees Like Associates, Not Just Staff

When you treat employees like partners, they bring their best selves to work. HR leaders must develop strategies to keep talent engaged, empowered, and prepared for the future.

Organizational success starts with people, always. Build the relationship with your team first, and the results will follow.

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Entrepreneurs

What Makes an Entrepreneurial Leader? Traits of the World’s Best Innovators

Inside the mindset of entrepreneurial leaders who transform risk, passion, and vision into world-changing results.

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entrepreneurial leadership skills and traits
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When you think of Richard Branson (Virgin Group), Bill Gates (Microsoft), Steve Jobs (Apple), Rupert Murdoch (News Corporation), and Ted Turner (CNN), one thing becomes clear: they are not just entrepreneurs, they are entrepreneurial leaders. (more…)

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