Is your "directive" style sapping your teams innovation and effectiveness?

tldr; Directiveness feels efficient, but it’s often a "Checklist Trap" that kills curiosity and stalls growth. If you find yourself doing all the talking or approving every minor decision, you aren't just managing—you’re dismantling your team's potential.  Explore some red-flags and warning signs, and try something new to unleash the greatness within your team.

When companies talk about leadership, they often focus on the "what"—the goals, the metrics, and the output. But if you’ve been following along with my writings, you know that I believe true leadership is actually about the "how." It’s about the impact you have on the humans in the room.  Yes we must deliver results.  There can be incredible pressure to show value- fast. The siren call to be directive, to give instructions, can be almost impossible to ignore. It feels efficient to just hand out the "how-to" and watch the boxes get checked. However, when a leader embraces a directive leadership style as a default, they run the risk of dismantling the very team they are trying to lead.

The most immediate casualty of a directive style is psychological safety. When a leader provides every answer, teams stop asking questions, and when questions stop, curiosity dies. If the team is conditioned to only "do what they are told, how they are told" they stop looking for patterns or questioning suboptimal results. Instead of a group of innovators, you end up with a team that is "following along" to avoid the risk of stepping outside the lines. You can’t install a culture of excellence like a software update; greatness has to be grown, and it cannot grow in a climate where people are afraid to fail because they weren't following the manual.

How do you know if you've fallen into this trap? 

There are some hints and red flags that you may be over-using direction and missing opportunities to help your team be the best that they can be.  

Start by looking in the "leadership mirror." 

• In your team meetings and your one-on-ones, who often speaks more?  You or them? -If the answer is "you" - you may be taking on a directive leadership style.

• How often are solutions to problems being suggested by your team?  How frequently are those suggestions accepted, or instead do they have to go with your ideas? -Are "your own ideas" more frequently implemented vs. the team’s ideas?  You may be embracing directiveness over empowerment.

• What percentage of decisions or deliverables  have to “go past you” before they are implemented? -If the percentage is high, you may be a bottleneck instead of an empowering force.

The good news is that we can always choose to make small changes. It starts with recognizing that we’re here to bring about outcomes, not output - and a team of talented, creative problem solvers will get us to outcomes faster than an army of instruction followers.

To start 'being better,' try turning your statements into questions.

• Instead of "do this…" try asking, "What are your ideas for how we solve this?" or "If you were me, how would you address this?" 

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  Instead of saying “go change this…” try asking “what might we adjust to achieve this outcome?” or “what do you think we could add or subtract to make this more…?”

This approach shifts the focus from the what to the how, giving your team a stake in the outcome. By moving from a commander to a guide, you begin to kindle the fire of curiosity. It’s a fine line to walk, balancing results with growth, but remember that long-term success isn't about being the smartest person in the room—it's about helping others grow into the best versions of themselves.

So, as you set your goals for the upcoming week, I challenge you to try one small experiment.

Pause for 60 seconds after your next meeting and reflect: 

1. Did you listen to understand, or just to respond? 

2. Did you give space for a differing perspective, or did you drown it out with the loudest voice? 

Everything from the questions we ask to the tone of our voice makes an impact on another person's day. You have to decide what kind of difference you want to make. Let's stop trying to "install" greatness and start creating the environment where it can grow. 

We all win together!

Coach Dan