From Chaos to Calm: A Journey Through Two Leadership Styles – Which Leader Would You Follow?

Take 1 Scene 1:

It’s late afternoon and I am already exhausted from last night’s customer escalation which kept me up until 4 AM. I’m watching the clock counting down the minutes until 5 PM desperate to shut my laptop and escape. But 5 PM seems like an eternity away. I decided to get some coffee to keep myself going. I’m almost out the door when...

The door flies open with a bang! Enter “Romie” (fictitious name) his face red with anger. The first words out of his mouth are “What the hell were you thinking?” I’m completely blindsided my exhaustion making everything feel surreal.

As if in slow motion I look around the room and realize we’re not alone. Ten of my colleagues are seated around the conference table their eyes widening in shock as they witness this unexpected confrontation. I manage to stammer “What’s the matter?”

Romie doesn’t care to explain much. He barks “You were NOT supposed to email the details of the project’s completion without my approval.” The room falls into an awkward silence. The air is thick with tension and I feel the weight of everyone’s eyes on me.

Humiliation washes over me. My cheeks burn with embarrassment. Anger bubbles up but I choke it down feeling utterly disengaged. How did things get to this point?

As Romie continues his tirade I glance around the room. Some of my colleagues look away pretending to be engrossed in their laptops. Others exchange nervous glances unsure of how to react. I feel like I’m shrinking under Romie’s relentless barrage.

The clock seems to have stopped and every second stretches into an eternity. I take a deep breath trying to steady myself. This moment will pass I tell myself. But the sting of this public humiliation will linger.

Take 2 Scene 2:

It's close to midnight and I’m in a deep sleep dreaming of finally catching a break after a hectic week. Suddenly my phone erupts with a piercing notification sound jolting me awake. I squint at the screen disoriented and groggy. It’s a message from Sam (fictitious name) one of my engineers. My heart races as I answer the call my voice shaky from sleep “Sam is everything okay?”

Sam’s voice trembles on the other end. He’s new to the team on his first on-call rotation and it’s clear he’s rattled. “There’s a customer issue” he stammers “They’ve raised a severity-2 on our service line.” My mind snaps into focus. Sam is in a different time zone which explains the late-hour crisis.

I reassure him “Don’t worry Sam. We’ll handle this.” I quickly text my manager giving him a heads-up about the situation so he isn’t caught off guard in the morning. Then I dive into the problem with Sam piecing together the puzzle of the issue.

As we work the severity of the situation becomes clear. A configuration change made by another engineer during the day has thrown everything into chaos. The pressure mounts as the minutes tick by. Sam’s nervous energy is palpable but we push through reverting the change and stabilizing the system. The issue is mitigated and a sense of calm begins to return.

The next day I walk into the office with a mix of exhaustion and pride. My manager my skip-level manager and his skip-level manager are all gathered waiting for an explanation of the midnight crisis. The room is tense and all eyes turn to my manager as he begins to speak.

“Configuration issues led to a Sev-2” he states matter-of-factly not naming any engineer. There’s no finger-pointing no blame game. He calmly explains that we’re already taking steps to prevent this from happening again. The tension in the room eases replaced by a collective understanding that this is a learning experience.

Done. End of it. (No Shame No Blame! Just learnings 😊)

A wave of emotions crashes over me: pride in our team’s resilience confidence in our ability to handle crises and a deep sense of gratitude and engagement.

Credits to Steve Means, Tom McCleery & Ragini Singh

What leadership style entices you to work for?

Having worked under both leadership styles I’ve experienced the agony of one and the triumph of the other. I merely survived under one but truly thrived under the other. Both styles have their own set of merits and flaws and we as "people" always have the choice to work for the leader who aligns with our values.

The stark contrast in these leaders' worth is fascinating: $240 billion vs. $1 billion. My heart screams to work for “Leader 2” who embodies empathy and empowerment. Yet my mind whispers “Leader 1 offers unparalleled financial growth.” Personally I’ll still choose Leader 2 as that resonates with my life priorities and values.

What about you? Which leader would you follow and why? I’m eager to hear your thoughts!

I want to express my deepest gratitude to Jenny Wood, Ethan Evans, and David Anderson. Your insightful posts and articles have been incredibly educational and inspiring. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and expertise!

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