We've turned leadership into a performance art. Pick your style from the dropdown menu. Transformational, transactional, servant, autocratic, as if you can order your management approach like a coffee drink. However, here's what I've learned from working with executives from Netflix, Hyatt, and The Home Depot: the leaders who move things forward don't fit into the traditional categories.
The Myth of Consistent Style
Most leadership theories assume that we should behave consistently regardless of the context. That consistency equals authenticity. But that's like saying a surgeon should use the same approach for every operation, or a parent should respond identically to every child.
The executives I coach who are effective have learned something different: authenticity isn't about being the same person in every situation. It's about being the same self through various expressions.
I've watched a CEO shift from collaborative consensus-building in a strategy session to decisive command in a crisis, not because she was being inconsistent, but because she was reading the room and responding appropriately. The core remained constant: clarity of intention, genuine care for outcomes, and willingness to take responsibility. The expression was adapted to meet the needs.
This is where the frameworks miss, and the most effective formula.
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