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Managing Flexibility & Rigidity in Leadership
Managing Flexibility & Rigidity in Leadership

January 18, 2022

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Many people have called for leadership behaviours to change in order to meet the demands of an ever-changing uncertainty. Traditional "command-and-control" systems are being phased out in favour of recent, more agile, and collaborative approaches.

 

In today's quickly changing socio-economic climate, flexibility has become extremely relevant. Adaptive leaders can change their leadership style or strategy in response to unpredictably sceptical situations. Furthermore, having the flexibility to adjust to changes is crucial. I've discovered a recurring pattern, which I call my template for the same, and it has mostly served me well throughout the years. It gives me immense pleasure to be able to share it with you.

 

For essence, the only reason a kite can soar across the sky is that its string is firmly clutched. The kite will come crashing down if we let go of the string. The stronghold on the string is analogous to principles. It doesn't matter if the kite is yellow, green, turquoise, or scarlet; it will still fly. Its colour will have no bearing on how it flies. Preferences are just like the kite's colour. They are the bedrock upon which something significant is built. 

 

We live in a Digital Age when information and creativity have virtually supplanted manual work and physical strength as the most desirable employee characteristics. Managing employees was considerably easier fifty years ago, or even twenty years ago: simply keep them moving during their shift, and the supervisor was thought to be doing a good job.

 

Employees nowadays desire a favourable workplace and the job to be done necessitates a more relaxed management style. However, old-school management experts argue that removing rigorous standards and allowing employees to govern themselves is similar to letting the insane run the institution. Employees, on the other hand, claim that if management loosens its grip and gives them more flexibility, they can execute a better job and do more in a smaller duration of time. The perfect balance between fixed and flexibility is something that should be taken into account to follow a high productive outcome for the employees. 

 

So now the question arises: How does relaxing the constraints on employees might help them be more creative? 

 

Many managers and business owners are debating how to find a balance between the forms of regulations and policies that give the company structure and the flexibility that employees believe allows them to perform at their best. It's high time that traditional managers must shift their focus from managing the team to leading their teams. 

Trust your employees

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Recognize that, even without regular instruction from someone higher up in the business, employees typically know the best path to take and the best resources to use. This does not imply eliminating all deadlines, workplace norms, or processes to foster innovation. In simple words, put your faith in your people to figure out how to achieve those pesky deadlines. Meanwhile, the main objective is to complete the task and keep the client happy. This will even encourage employees to be more flexible in their work and will help develop their flexibility abilities.

 

Appreciate the versatility

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

There are countless possibilities for a leader to be adaptable. Different difficulties will confront various leaders, and each will need to identify and embrace chances for flexibility within their specific area of influence and action. Here are a few examples of how leaders' effectiveness may be improved by striking the right chord between being flexible & rigid. To begin with, flexibility can aid in the resolution of communication and connection issues with employees. Everyone has varied listening, learning, and understanding styles, and a flexible leader should not only be aware of this, but also be rigid to take action to address it. 

 

Second, leaders must be adaptable when interacting with people from other fields, sectors, or cultures. Global companies and multidisciplinary teams aim to use individual diversity in education, experience, and expertise. When working with people who are different from themselves, leaders need to let go of their usual routines and embrace the styles of others. Finally, as technology advances and corporations seek greater efficiency, significant changes in tools, technology, or work styles are prevalent. The need to adapt to these changes and catch up with changing work patterns works a long way for the betterment of personal and professional growth.   

 

These are some final words as to what can be done to achieve the same. 

 

  • Strike a balance between establishing a strict policy and having total independence. 

 

  • Make yourself available to employees who require more guidance than others. Also, be sure to provide employees feedback, so they don't feel like their efforts were in vain.

 

  • Determine how much flexibility you can integrate into the structure based on the nature of your business.

 

  • Meet with employees one-on-one or in groups to determine their degree of satisfaction with your organization's current structure. 

 

Wrapping Up

Building a team that resonates with the firm and can develop what the company wants often requires balanced management of flexibility and rigidity. 

Many of the tedious tasks may be reduced if we look at the broad picture and modify our approach to handling the individuals and their situations. When it comes to developing a team, I believe it is more important to focus on the individual rather than the corporation. 

 


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Rrahul Sethi
Co-Founder & Head of Talent & Delivery

In the last 21-years as professional & entrepreneur, I have made friends, built companies, sold companies, invested in people and learnt my way up. I have spent a reasonable time building business in South Africa, the United States and India. In totality, I like to be around positive people who are successful and have a mindset of growing together. I was awarded the ‘Proto Award’ for India’s most innovative Startups (Times Media Group). In year 2018, I was felicitated at BRICS Alliance Summit in New Delhi for emerging product development in sustainable technology space. I have been speaker in several Industry events over last decade as subject matter expert in business & technology. At the Cross-border Entrepreneurial Summit in Gurgaon, I have delivered sessions to mid-size companies Leadership teams and have mentored start-ups ranging from Agriculture, hospitality to Defence and high tech industry.

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