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My Leadership Style

Supplemental style: PILOT

You are a forward-looking leader who often enjoys the challenge of working in an environment that’s ambiguous, complex, and characterized by significant change. You are capable of not only generating compelling strategies but also translating them into action. And you are open to input from people you trust. Because you have clear opinions, relish challenges, and value collaborating with others, you’re comfortable and effective working in teams. At times, though, the combination of your strong drive, dynamism, and “here and now” mentality can spur you to push for changes faster and harder than your colleagues are ready for. As a result, you may be perceived as unreflective, tough to satisfy, and consistently disappointed in the performance of others. Some people may even find your intensity to be unsettling.

Potential blind spots:

•   Making space for others. Your strongly held views can dominate the room and leave little space for others to freely share their thoughts and insights. Make a conscious effort to listen, and be mindful that you may be unintentionally encouraging people to defer to your perspective.

•   Taking time to reflect. Your propensity to seek out new challenges may come at the expense of not learning from the past. Temper this tendency by conducting structured “after-action reviews” when you wrap up projects.

•   Managing an intense personal drive. The very same energy and “always on” orientation that helps you get results can also make it hard to achieve internal balance. Get away from your work now and then to clarify your insights and perspective, even if you don’t think it’s necessary. The team will thank you, too — your intensity may be exhausting and demotivating to the people around you.

•   Stepping back and letting others lead. Your natural inclination is to proactively and boldly lead projects and initiatives of your own creation. However, part of being a leader is giving people around you the chance to develop their own leadership capabilities and grow. When appropriate, carve out meaningful leadership roles for others.

•   Thinking through implications for major changes. The changes you tend to be attracted to are large and influential. Your approach, however, is likely to be “ready, fire, aim.” Before you push forward on initiatives, take time to identify and address the risks.

While you can improve in each of these areas, your natural or default style will resonate in certain work environments and fit less well in others. So you may want to seek out settings that play to your strengths, even as you work on areas for development to thrive in a broader range of contexts.

You’re likely to thrive if:

•   You’re in a complex or ambiguous environment that requires clear strategic and visionary leadership.

•   Decisiveness and fast growth are paramount where you are — in a start-up, for example, or a turnaround situation.

•   Your organization is static and needs to reengage its workforce.

•   You’re given room to own and drive your projects and initiatives.

You may struggle if:

•   You’re working for a micromanager or in a controlling environment. 

•   Your organization has conservative managers or board members who hesitate to challenge the status quo. 

•   Less-seasoned individuals on your team require a good deal of support and handholding. 

•   Your tasks must adhere to firmly established processes and protocols, as in some industrial and manufacturing environments.

•   You’re not the only natural Pilot in the group, and people’s designated roles and responsibilities don’t precisely clarify “who owns what.”

Supplemental style: HARMONIZER

You have high standards for quality and prefer that everyone use the same playbook to ensure reliable, efficient operations. You also have a knack for finding the right people and creating an environment that facilitates coordination and execution. You are effective at spotting problems and using your network of relationships to call on outside experts to help solve them. Still, your focus on internal operations can limit your perspective and your ability to formulate unique ideas. Therefore, creating strategy may be difficult for you. Colleagues may view you as consistent and supportive, yet somewhat cautious when it comes to change, particularly large-scale transformations or significant shifts in the way business is conducted.

Potential blind spots:

•   Accepting ambiguity. Your strong focus on execution could leave you with less interest in exploring alternative ways of operating, especially if it means straying from a methodology you know to be successful. Remember that change is an integral part of sustainability and that delaying decisions (and accepting the unpleasant uncertainty you feel) can sometimes lead to better outcomes. 

•   Remembering to “look up.” Your focus tends to be internal and near-term (solving today’s challenges and meeting immediate goals). Pay attention to the bigger picture, and in particular the viability of your long-term decisions. Or be sure to have someone you trust on your team who does this well. Rigid adherence to the status quo can render your current method of operating — not to mention your strategy — obsolete should market changes occur. 

•   Constructively addressing conflict. Your desire for a pleasant, agreeable work dynamic can translate into a passive approach to conflict. Delivering tough, constructive feedback may be a challenge for you. Remember that conflict can be healthy and that failing to address problems can make them worse. When conflict arises, use your relational skills to get to the root of the matter and seek collaborative solutions.

While you can improve in each of these areas, your natural or default style will resonate in certain work environments and fit less well in others. So you may want to seek out settings that play to your strengths, even as you work on areas for development to thrive in a broader range of contexts.

You’re likely to thrive if:

•   You work in a predictable, reliable setting that enables smooth execution and performance.

•   Your role requires careful adherence to process and structure, as does running a manufacturing plant or a medical facility.

•   Your depth of knowledge and experience can help stabilize the organization — for instance, after a volatile leader’s departure.

•   Attrition is high, and your relational skills and attention to operations can be used to keep people from jumping ship.

You may struggle if:

•   You’re in an organization (such as a creative agency) where successful people resist conformity and constantly question the status quo.

•   Significant performance issues need attention, and lots of tough messages must be delivered.

•   A turnaround or high-growth situation requires shrewd strategic thinking.