Both/And Leadership refers to a leadership mindset that sees and includes both sides of a polarity. A polarity is two seemingly opposite states that have to co-exist over time if you are to be successful. For example, are you more “supportive” or “challenging” in your leadership style? We take the both/and view where you must be both supportive and challenging to be successful. This is just one example. There are many more.
The issue is that leaders often identify with one side of the polarity over the other and use this as their “go to” way of leading. Over time this leads to an imbalance and impacts satisfaction and results. We work with leaders to recognize their own preferences as polarities and then to develop and integrate the other side.
Polarities show up at the organisational level too. For example, a company may be considering whether to centralize or decentralize decisions. Put like this, it seems like an either/or choice. And because it is often viewed this way, leadership ends up redesigning the organization every few years because it has swung too far in one direction. This causes major disruption and waste of resources. But what if it’s viewed as polarity? From this perspective, the organization can make smarter and more agile choices to get the benefits of both without necessarily swinging from one option to the other.

We take the view that many leadership challenges are polarities to navigate and not either/or choices (although sometimes they are). When seen as a polarity, leaders recognize the inherent tension in these apparent opposites. When seen as a polarity, leaders have the capacity to balance and integrate both and get the full benefits of both. Without this awareness, leaders can easily default to an either/or approach which often results in imbalance, waste, conflict and polarization. By adeptly navigating polarities, leaders can handle complex environments, address diverse needs, and foster a resilient and dynamic organization.

We train and coach leaders in how to see and successfully navigate polarities. Let’s connect to discuss what the next steps might be for you or your team.