“Effective leaders adjust their style to provide what the group can’t provide for itself.”

A winning baseball manager knows what his team needs inside
the clubhouse and on the field. When his team plays its best,
he can stay out of the way. In a pressure-packed play-off game,
he might call for a clever pitching change, or during a losing
streak, he can take the pressure of slumping batters with a day
off or a line-up shift.

Whether it is baseball or business, the ability to adapt successfully
to the circumstances often defines the best managers.

After all, employees and players alike want to prove their worth
to the team. Legendary consultant, Ken Blanchard, teaches
that the most effective managers regularly adapt to the needs
of the groups they lead. At various points, these leaders
provide direction, support, encouragement – or, sometimes,
nothing at all.

When a new project is in the pipeline, the need for direction
from the start is paramount. Group members may be committed
but unsure of what to do next. Later, they may start doubting
other team members’ commitment or wondering if their own
ideas matter.

At this point, rather than telling people what to do, effective
leaders should solicit the group’s best ideas to show everyone
that teamwork is crucial. In the end, individual members of the
group may never realise what it takes to win without agile leaders
giving them what they need when they need it.