3 leadership reversals required for success today

Today’s business landscape is being reshaped at a dizzying pace. Technology and other disruptions. Constant uncertainty. Escalating expectations. Shriveling resources. Increasingly complex global dynamics. They’ve all created a reality that looks nothing like the one within which many leaders grew up and developed the skills needed for success.

But what led to success in the past is no longer enough. And, unfortunately, it’s not a matter of learning new skills. Or even unlearning old ones. Today’s environment demands something far less intuitive and more challenging: taking the very instincts and practices that once defined strong leadership and deliberately turning them upside down. Only by rethinking these second-nature behaviors can leaders deliver results in a world that refuses to play by yesterday’s rules.

Today, leaders must make a 180-degree turn from having the answers, being in control and working at the constant, accelerating speed of business, to cultivate the skills of not knowing, letting go and slowing down.

The skill of not knowing

In the past, leaders added value by serving as the primary source of information. Got a question? Your boss could likely answer it. This created a sense of comfort and a source of power for leaders. But today’s dynamic and uncertain environment is defined less by answers and more by questions. 

Effective leadership today demands curiosity and intellectual humility, which allows space for saying, “I don’t know.” These qualities open the information aperture to more diverse and varied data, insights, experiences and wisdom. They foster psychological safety and harness the power of others and collective problem-solving. 

Going from knowing it all to embracing not knowing but learning it all is a powerful and necessary leader shift.

The talent of letting go

Traditional leadership rewards control. Yet in today’s decentralized, hybrid and AI-infused workplaces, control is an illusion. That’s why it’s time to embrace the counter-intuitive act of releasing control. “Strategic surrender” telegraphs respect and confidence. It unlocks individual and team engagement. It enables the kind of innovation and results that most organizations need.

However, the keyword here is “strategic.” Letting go effectively is about identifying where control hinders results or slows things down – and challenging yourself to find alternatives that are less leader-centric and deliver better results. In practice, it might look like:

Becoming a macro- rather than micro-manager.
Loosening the grip on information and sharing more, so teams have the context necessary to do the best work they can.
Stepping back during meetings to allow the wisdom and experiences of others to surface.
Engaging and even shifting decision-making to those with the skills and knowledge to solve problems.
Collaborating more broadly and sharing authority with stakeholders.
Letting go of perfection to allow for experimentation, iteration and learning.

Given the complex and interconnected nature of work, leaders can no longer be in total control of their teams, departments or even their own work. Letting go – and letting others in – is another powerful and necessary shift for leaders.

The ability to slow down

In a world that celebrates speed, leaders who deliberately pause are a rarity – and a gift to their employees. Slowing down helps address burnout, improves judgment and allows teams to align rather than engage in endless fire drills. But it also serves the business. When leaders take the time to reflect, listen deeply, think systematically and coordinate, they actually make better decisions and do better work – sometimes more efficiently.

Leadership today isn’t about tightening your grip on the wheel — it’s about learning when to loosen it, when to take your foot off the gas and when to admit you don’t have the map. Paradoxically, the leaders best equipped for success are those who resist the urge to prove, control and accelerate their progress. Instead, they embrace the discipline of asking, trusting and pausing. By leaning into these reversals, leaders not only navigate today’s turbulence more effectively — they also model a new kind of strength, one rooted not in certainty, control or speed, but in humility, partnership and presence.

Opinions expressed by SmartBrief contributors are their own.

____________________________________

Take advantage of SmartBrief’s FREE email newsletters on leadership and business transformation, among the company’s more than 250 industry-focused newsletters.