5 ways to manage your energy budget
The flow of your energy is like a budget: What comes in (rechargers) and what goes out (drainers) needs to be balanced. Here’s how to ensure your levels remain stable. ...
by Michael R. Wade Published 11 October 2024 in Brain Circuits • 3 min read
In the traditional approach, leaders lead from the top, making decisions unilaterally – but this risks alienating promising talent. By contrast, emergent leaders empower others to achieve goals – but should be careful not to undermine their own authority by sharing power too broadly.
The traditional leader is a tactician who values operational clarity and well-defined plans. If this isn’t managed wisely, leaders risk not providing a compass for team members. Emergent leaders have a clear vision of where they want to go, without needing a concrete roadmap for how to get there. However, if the vision is not realistic, they may set unachievable or intangible goals.
Traditional leadership values decision making, conviction, and consistency. But, in fast-changing environments, decisions are often reversed or adapted. Here, changing course in response to new information is a must for survival; hence adaptability is a strength rather than a weakness.
The old-school way asserts that leaders should be perfectionists, taking time to deliver a finished product. But this risks delaying the launch of key initiatives for fear of imperfection. In the new-school approach, failing fast is often more important than doing it perfectly. Conversely, moving initiatives forward without proper testing can lead to embarrassing results.
Traditional leaders use their expert gut to make intuitive decisions, but these may be based on outdated or biased heuristics. In the emergent approach, decisions are based largely on data. However, leaders should also heed their inner compass or risk overlooking valuable insights gleaned from their extensive experience.
Traditionally, leaders built their careers by developing deep expertise in certain areas of the business, assuming this brought superior insight to organizational challenges. The emergent school holds that leaders should accept that their expertise is limited – or even obsolete – and remain open to learning from others with who can provide specialized knowledge and insights.
Traditionalists tell others what to do and how to do it, which risks missing important team contributions. The emergent approach values listening carefully to others before taking decisions, but leaders may omit to apply their own knowledge if they don’t provide their own viewpoint.
Finding the Right Balance — and Flexibility — in Your Leadership Style
Every Leader Needs to Navigate These 7 Tensions
From Boomers to Gen Z: Managing generational dynamics in the workplace
How to embrace the Use of Self concept for impactful leadership
Is the single CEO leadership model still fit for purpose?
Decision-making under pressure
All views expressed herein are those of the author and have been specifically developed and published in accordance with the principles of academic freedom. As such, such views are not necessarily held or endorsed by TONOMUS or its affiliates.
TONOMUS Professor of Strategy and Digital
Michael R Wade is TONOMUS Professor of Strategy and Digital at IMD and Director of the TONOMUS Global Center for Digital and AI Transformation. He directs a number of open programs such as Leading Digital and AI Transformation, Digital Transformation for Boards, Leading Digital Execution, Digital Transformation Sprint, Digital Transformation in Practice, Business Creativity and Innovation Sprint. He has written 10 books, hundreds of articles, and hosted popular management podcasts including Mike & Amit Talk Tech. In 2021, he was inducted into the Swiss Digital Shapers Hall of Fame.
1 November 2024 • by Francesca Giulia Mereu in Brain Circuits
The flow of your energy is like a budget: What comes in (rechargers) and what goes out (drainers) needs to be balanced. Here’s how to ensure your levels remain stable. ...
31 October 2024 • by Véronique Bogliolo in Brain Circuits
Surprised by negative feedback on your leadership skills? If so, brush up on your ability to sense what others are thinking with these dos and don’ts of collaborative working. ...
30 October 2024 • by Michael D. Watkins in Brain Circuits
You've just been parachuted in as the new CEO. You need to hit the ground running and build credibility fast. Where do you start?...
29 October 2024 • by Jennifer Jordan in Brain Circuits
We tend to assume that having more power makes people behave more unethically, but there are numerous examples where it means the opposite. So, what's the truth about power?...
Explore first person business intelligence from top minds curated for a global executive audience