The Paradoxes of Leadership, Pt. 5 - Committed vs. Flexible

About the Author: Pete Ward - Partner, Rise Above Consulting

Pete Ward is a globally experienced founder and executive. After kicking off his career as a rock climbing rescue ranger, Pete then contributed to our foundational understanding of the mathematics of Neuroscience at university. Looking for the greatest possible positive impact, Pete brought that intellectual rigor combined with a fearless commitment to results into the business world where he has built his career as a leader. That career has spanned industries and continents and resulted in a truly unique perspective on how to build and grow profitable businesses. From New York to Oxford to Switzerland and from Tech to Financial Services to Retail, Pete has crafted  high-performance strategies on the cutting edge regardless of context. 

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Would you rather be adaptable or resilient? 

Both are admirable. But they pull in opposite directions: adaptability requires you to change, resilience requires you to hold steady. Which is right for your business today? And which comes most naturally to you as a leader?

Stephen Hawking once said, “Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.” He was right, but I think only partly. Sometimes the most intelligent move is not to adapt but to stand firm, to hold the line when everything around you is shifting.

Previously, I introduced the concept of the Paradoxes of Leadership and the four core responsibilities of a leader. In the simplest terms, the work of a leader is as follows;

Make Decisions	Provide direction, commitment, and impetus to your organization
Motivate Your People	Align your organization, clarify its purpose, and get buy-in
Resource the Organization	Provide the tools, structure and assets that your people need to do the job
See the Big Picture	Think strategically, and know when to be adaptable and when to be resilient

It’s this last responsibility -seeing the big picture - that unlocks the paradox of flexibility vs. commitment. Great leaders know when to pivot and when to double down.

We have arranged flexible and committed as complementary antonyms because one of the most important decisions that the complete leader can make is to “Know when to hold ‘em and when to fold ‘em”. When do you understand that you must embrace change as an organization and when do you double down on your strengths? This is one of the most critical decisions a leader can make and we all have a natural tendency towards one direction or the other. Understanding our natural biases will allow us to more clearly see the actual choices in front of us and to maximize our chances of success.

When do you understand that you must embrace change as an organization and when do you double down on your strengths? This is one of the most critical decisions a leader can make

Sometimes you have to know when to pivot (and do it fast), and other times you have to hold your ground.

Flexible Leadership

The Good

You understand that success is the goal and that one of the worst mistakes a leader can make is to be dogmatic about how you get there. To use a sports analogy, you’re willing to “take what the defense gives you”. Whether that means big plays, or small chunk yardage is unimportant as long as it puts points on the board. You are perceptive, adaptable, and agile, able to translate new data into fresh ways of working that keep the organization moving forward even in a rapidly changing environment.

The Challenge

However, your versatility risks presenting to those around you as inconsistency and your willingness to adapt to changing circumstances can come off as indecisive to stakeholders who count on you to be grounded. In the worst case scenarios you can be seen as weak; someone who is easily pushed off their mark when the winds of change blow too hard.

Committed Leadership

The Good

You are a rock, a beacon of stability for everyone around you. No matter how high the highs, or how low the lows, you will always be there, you will always be grounded, and everyone in your organization knows it. No matter how deep the crisis or how visionary the success, your team knows who you are and can count on you. You are disciplined, tough and resourceful, always able to find a way to make do with what you have and to keep your organization on course and true to itself.

The Challenge

Being too committed to an idea or direction is basically the same thing as stubbornness and sometimes you may miss opportunities to change that would benefit you and your organization in the long run. In the worst-case scenario, your resilience makes you too predictable and the potential for transformational innovations is lost to you and to the teams you lead. “Staying the course” sounds great, but knowing when to recalibrate your heading is equally important.

The Real Work: How do I learn to be more flexible or more committed?

Welcome to the long journey of leadership my friend. The Paradox of being adaptable vs. being resilient is actually about how you see the world. Are you more comfortable in the present? Comfortable in the here and now and in dealing with what’s in front of you? Or are you happier when you’re dreaming big and imagining new horizons? 

Your ultimate ability as a leader will be determined by your ability to go on a voyage of discovery of yourself, and by your ability to learn new ways of confronting old problems.  And that evolution - the evolution of your intellect, your abilities and your character - is ultimately the limiting factor for the performance of your business. Your team, your company or your portfolio will to some extent become a reflection of you and if you want our business to grow, you will need to grow as well. 

Because you can’t grow your business if you’re not growing the capabilities of your leadership

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