Beyond the Leadership Style Trap : What Actually Predicts Your Team’s Performance
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You’ve probably spent a fair amount of time—and maybe a good chunk of your budget—trying to pin down your "leadership style." You’ve taken the tests, analyzed your traits, and tried to figure out if you're a "servant leader" or a "strategic visionary."
Unfortunately, none of that matters if the foundation is off
You know the feeling. You’ve got a solid strategy and a talented team, yet you’re still hitting decision-making bottlenecks that slow everything to a crawl. Departments that should be collaborating are instead protecting their turf, and your best initiatives are stalling in the noise of daily operations.
The friction isn't coming from your "style." It’s coming from the way you see the people you’re leading.
When People Become Objects
In complex organizations, it’s easy to stop seeing people as people. When the pressure is on and the layers of management are thick, we often default to what we call an inward mindset.
Without even realizing it, you start seeing your team through one of three distorted lenses:
Vehicles: Tools to help you hit your KPIs.
Obstacles: Barriers that are slowing you down or messing up your plan.
Irrelevancies: People who simply don’t matter to your immediate goals.
Think about the last time a project went sideways. Did you focus on who was at fault? Did you see the "other side" as a hurdle to be cleared? That’s the inward mindset in action. It manifests as blame-shifting and silo-protection, and it’s the primary reason why 70% of change initiatives fail. You aren't managing people; you're managing objects. And objects eventually resist.
The Mindset Audit
The most effective leaders don’t obsess over their "style." They obsess over their mindset. They operate with an outward mindset, which means they see others as people with their own objectives, challenges, and burdens.
If you want to know how you’re actually leading, stop looking at your personality profile and try this 60-second mindset audit before your next high-stakes meeting:
Step 1: Identify the "Obstacle." Think of the one person or department currently causing you the most friction.
Step 2: Check Your Lens. Ask yourself: "Am I seeing them as a person with their own goals, or just as an obstacle to mine?"
Step 3: Adjust the Effort. Instead of thinking, "How can I get them to do what I want?" ask, "How is my current approach making their job harder?" Schedule a Meet-To-Learn so you can better understand what to adjust.
This isn't about being "nice." It’s about being sharp. When you stop treating people like obstacles, you clear the path for the strategy you already have to actually work.
The Outcome
When you shift to an outward mindset, the "noise" of daily operations starts to quiet down. Accountability stops feeling like something you have to enforce through micromanagement and starts feeling like something your team actually owns. You don't need a new leadership style; you need a clearer lens.
Ready for more?
Check out "The Self-Deception Trap, Saving Leaders from Themselves"
FAQ
Q: How do I stop departmental silos from killing our productivity?
A: Silos aren't a structural problem; they’re a mindset problem. They happen when departments see each other as obstacles or irrelevancies. The fix starts with leaders who are willing to ask, "How can my department help yours succeed?" rather than just protecting their own territory.
Q: Why do my team members wait for direction instead of taking initiative?
A: If people feel like "vehicles" used to achieve your goals, they will only do exactly what is required to stay safe. Initiative grows when people feel their leader is invested in their success, not just their output.
Q: How can we close the gap between our strategy and its execution?
A: Strategy fails when it’s pushed onto an inward-looking culture. To close the gap, leaders must transition from "holding people accountable" to "developing accountable people" who understand their impact on the organization's collective results.
