When it comes to leadership, the trend is moving toward participative styles, which place strong emphasis on employee well-being (remember Richard Branson and his famous “Take care of your employees, and they’ll take care of your customers”), transformational leadership, which encourages innovation (think of Satya Nadella who fostered a culture of continuous learning and growth within Microsoft; the renowned “growth mindset” concept aimed at making everyone feel free to experiment without fear of consequences), and leading by example (embodied by Marc Benioff, who acts in accordance with the values he promotes, and is known for his open and accessible approach, fostering transparent communication within Salesforce).
Bordering on control freak?
When we think of directive leadership, we immediately think of the opposite: the authoritarian profile who enjoys playing the boss and barking orders at their teams, omnipotent among passive collaborators. The type who fully embraces their hierarchical superiority; who makes decisions, gives instructions, defines missions, supervises their collaborators…: in short, they are in command and they make sure everyone knows it. Their sole objective: achieve their targets (emotions are set aside)!
This type of top-down leadership can foster dependency, passivity and lack of creativity, a decrease in employee engagement, and even risks of burnout, which explains its poor reputation today.
Yet it does have certain advantages, particularly in urgent projects or crisis situations, when faced with employees who need clear direction: it allows for quick reactions.
And this brings us to Jack Welch. Thanks to his decision-making and problem-solving abilities, General Electric quadrupled its revenues during his tenure, and increased its market capitalization from $12 to $410 billion. His courage enabled him to do what he deemed necessary, sometimes abandoning his plans even if it could draw criticism toward him and GE. Welch was heavily criticized for the speed at which he acted, perhaps especially when he downsized GE’s workforce. Yet he avoided the damage caused by inaction or late decisions, which can sink a company, including private enterprises.
The situational approach to adapting your style.
It’s really all about balance and adjustment. The situation should justify the use of a particular leadership model. Very recently in the news, we learned that the “Tavares method” was being questioned at Stellantis, after years of extraordinary results. Elon Musk himself is frequently criticized for his lack of empathy and the particularly demanding working conditions he imposes on his teams – despite the vision he instills in them, which drives them to develop radical solutions to invent tomorrow, in both the electric and space sectors.
As crises follow one another and economies enter recession, leaders are compelled to rethink their strategies within a new time framework. In the short term, the succession of turbulences and their interdependence will likely drive companies and their leaders toward greater agility and adaptability to better anticipate the next crises, and to restore some shine to a certain form of authority, a guarantee of effectiveness.