Modern corporate dynamics demand that we shed rigid ideas of leadership. It’s no longer about maintaining a fixed position; it’s about reading the room, understanding the team’s needs, and adjusting your role accordingly. We are all multifaceted and have more flexibility than we may tap into. Leadership can be a bit “messy” in this world of shifting roles, and it’s what’s necessary for relationship, team, and business success.
The Key to Success: Adaptable Leadership Is Adapting to Shifting Demands
The team analogies that many of us were raised with can undermine our corporate success. Most of us have been on different kinds of teams — running on the sports field, acting on stage, or harmonizing in music groups. These endeavors often teach us that success comes when we listen and respond to the coach, director, or conductor. There tends to be a single voice of leadership.
Then we find ourselves on corporate teams for corporate team training, and things not only feel different, but they are different. If all we do is hold our position, keep our heads down, and do our job, we have failed as a team. Unlike traditional teams, the corporate environment demands flexibility in leadership. We learn leadership is not static; it’s dynamic, and thus, being a team member is not fixed but also dynamic. Where we had learned success meant listening to the one point of leadership that no longer holds. There are moments when you need to lead and times when you need to follow, no matter your title.
This nuanced definition of leadership is important to note. Shifting team demands requires attuning to when we need to step in, step sideways, or even backward. These choices create subtle shifts in relationships as projects are added or expanded, and key members are moved to other clients or on to other internal demands.
Isn’t this similar to our early team experiences where a player is hurt and someone else steps in? Or when we are the understudy in a play and have to be ready to go on?
Not exactly, and understanding and navigating this difference is where more folks can succeed in corporate. The original paradigm is that the director or head coach still makes all decisions. And frequently, you are labeled as out of line if you step in voluntarily. Even if you are ready to sing the solo or fill a position, the final say is with the leader.
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Corporate Leadership
In corporate, the organizational leadership chart defines the roles, yet you are expected to step up and fill in as needed. It’s a mind shift from waiting to be told by a leader to take ownership and action.
You can argue it’s the same thing. Teams are teams.
And with that argument, you lose the insight and power of navigating the nuanced corporate change to what it means to be a team member.
We’ve experienced what it is to work as a team, each of us putting in the best of us for the outcome, whatever that goal might be. Team has been used as a metaphor and a trope to guide us to work together. “There’s no I in team.” “It’s all about teamwork.” And though this is true, subtle confusion and messiness are created in the corporate world. The organizational chart tells us who has the role defined by that chart. The phrase team and being a team needs to be redefined in business. The trusted paradigm has us thinking: yes, one player is down; I will jump in and fill in for them. I’m in a play, and I’m the understudy. I’m ready to go on. But that’s different from being on a team in day-to-day action in the corporate world. You are sometimes working with two people, sometimes with five people. Our teams are shifting depending on the project, the internal needs, and the client’s needs. Occasionally, we’re on for five different teams. One person I worked with recently was on nine teams. Waiting for direction from one leader leads to inaction and team failure.
The Fluid Role of Leadership
Business success is often pinned on adapting to shifting situations, professional agility, and understanding change. Truly, success lies in maneuvering the shifting communication demands in the changing and various relationships. Similar, yes, yet the focus on business communication is foundational and often overlooked.
What’s your role when you are on nine teams!? We need agility. We’re being asked to be completely and totally flexible, stepping in and stepping back, with a heightened awareness of the current needs. This is truly improvisational at its finest. We are moving from being a group to being a corporate team. You recognize what is needed and either step in, step back, or step aside to lead.
Case in point, a promising leader was sent to us for coaching. He was a very successful and “can’t do without” team member. Now, he was struggling with the nuanced shifts in his team relationships. He was being asked to lead in a new way and was having difficulty shifting from being next to the team to being in front of the group. Difficult decisions were being made, and the team needed him to hold the space – and lead them through the situation rather than becoming one of them. He lacked an understanding of the shift in his roles – for what was needed in that moment. Through coaching, he was able to claim all the roles and step in at the pivotal moments.
In corporate, you can actually lose a promotion by not being seen as the member who successfully navigates the daily relationship and communication shifts. Yes, you were a great team player but stuck in your role when something else was needed.
It feels different, and it is. There’s an improvisational quality where a strong ensemble shifts who is the focus depending on what is needed. Each member also knows that the other players have their back no matter where the story goes.
Adaptability Comes With Challenges
In the corporate world, clarity can be missing. There is no forceful voice of a coach, a director’s passionate vision, or a conductor’s harmonizing baton – to tell us when and how to step up.
In the corporate realm, adapting to the fluid nature of leadership and being on a team can feel disorienting. The once-clear scripts—of when to speak, when to listen, when to lead–seem to disappear, and you find yourselves wondering: When is it okay to speak up? When should you lead? When should you defer to someone else? Deadlines are being missed or delayed, and management isn’t aware of the roadblocks or missing communication.
When you learn to step in or step back – when your entire team knows to step in and/or step back- an effective team has been activated, and shared relationship/leadership exists. You are no longer a mere group that has been labeled a team. You are stepping into the new team paradigm.
Why Communication is Crucial
The corporate communication world tends to be laden with mixed messages, making it difficult to make the best move. On one hand, we’re told to lead; on the other, we’re cautioned about overstepping. This tug-of-war can be confusing, and the solution lies in communication. Effective communication and relationship awareness serve as the bridge between these shifting roles. It allows team members to:
- Understand Their Roles: Effective communication ensures everyone understands their roles, discussing potential overlap or conflict. This helps us know when it’s time to lead and when it’s time to follow.
- Navigate Relationship Complexities: Open communication provides different strategies to tackle challenges and conflicts with transparency and ease.
- Collaborate Efficiently: Relationships with clear and open communication build trust and invite a collective approach to team goals.
Teams can preempt potential conflicts by establishing an awareness of needed communication. Open dialogues foster an environment of trust where team members feel valued and empowered to take on leadership roles as needed. It’s not about everyone trying to lead all the time; it’s about everyone being prepared to lead when their particular skills and
expertise is called for.
By incorporating practical tools, like feedforward models and solid team-building exercises, teams can nurture a culture of relationships with open communication. Regular check-ins, feedback sessions, and open forums can ensure that everyone’s on the same page and potential issues are addressed head-on. Adaptable and flexible leadership will continue as they move forward.
In Conclusion
For a corporate team to truly succeed, members must be fluid in their leadership roles, constantly adapting based on the team’s needs. At the heart of this adaptability lies an effective connection to the changing relationships and communication. The powerful art of communication leads teams to co-creatively navigate the shifting dynamics of relationships and leadership, ensuring collective success.
Ready for support in navigating team leadership, communication, and dynamics?
Hilary Blair is a leadership keynote speaker based out of Denver, CO, and is the co-founder of ARTiculate: Real & Clear. She is also a highly regarded, actor, improviser, facilitator, voice-over artist, and voice expert coach. Contact us today to learn more.
