November 4, 2024

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Is Tough Leadership Going To Be Outlawed?

Is Tough Leadership Going To Be Outlawed?

In case you haven’t heard, Australia recently joined the list of countries that have enacted “right to disconnect” laws. In simple terms, the law protects employees who “refuse to monitor, read or respond to contact or attempted contact outside their working hours, unless their refusal is unreasonable.” Around a dozen countries have enacted similar laws, and the growing trend raises an important question: Is tough, hard-charging management going extinct?

The traditional model of relentless leadership is facing growing pressure to adapt or perish. While these laws haven’t hit the United States in any serious way yet, they are part of a global trend towards curbing employee burnout and promoting work-life balance. There’s clearly a move to redraw the boundaries between personal and professional life with greater emphasis on employee well-being. But does this spell the end for ambitious employees who thrive in high-pressure environments?

Historically, ambitious employees have gravitated towards a leadership style called the Pragmatist leader—those who set audacious goals, push their teams hard, and expect nothing less than excellence. Pragmatists appeal to a particular kind of employee who isn’t satisfied with mediocrity and who relishes the opportunity to outperform others and smash through obstacles.

These employees thrive under leaders who, like them, demand more, push harder, and aim for the stars. Yet, with new regulations like the right to disconnect becoming more common, the leadership landscape may be shifting away from these high-intensity styles. Pragmatists may face a reckoning: continue with the status quo or adjust their style to fit a new world where work-life balance is not just an option, but a legal right.

The drive for increased productivity, often led by Pragmatist leaders, can have unintended consequences. A striking revelation from a Leadership IQ study showed that over 80% of leaders admit they don’t know how to effectively reduce employee burnout. Burnout isn’t just a minor inconvenience; it leads to decreased productivity, higher turnover, and increased mistakes—all of which can erode a company’s bottom line.

When employees are pushed to their limits without sufficient opportunities to recharge, burnout becomes inevitable. The growing adoption of laws like Australia’s right to disconnect is a reaction to this problem. If leaders fail to recognize and address the evolving expectations around employee well-being, they may find themselves out of step with a workforce that increasingly prioritizes balance over burnout.

However, there is a nuance to consider. Not all employees fit into the mold of desiring a calm, clock-out-on-time work environment. We know from the data on leadership styles that many highly driven employees still seek out challenging, high-intensity workplaces. They want to achieve big goals and are willing to work beyond the standard 9-to-5 to do so. For these individuals, a leadership style focused solely on balance may feel stifling.

What leaders must realize is that not every employee thrives under the same conditions. Just as the Pragmatist leadership style isn’t for everyone, neither are the Steward or Diplomat styles that emphasizes process and harmony. The future of leadership will likely require a more adaptive approach, balancing the drive for high achievement with respect for individual boundaries and well-being.

Tim Houlne, CEO of Humach, shared with me how his company shifted away from single-threaded leadership, a model where a single leader takes on all the accountability for a project. When his workforce moved to remote work, he noticed that employees who were once seen as high performers were struggling to disconnect. “Like many companies,” he said, “we could spot the ambitious go-getters by who’s working late at night, in the morning or on the weekends, not to show off, but to make a difference and get stuff done. And like any fast-growing company, we love those people who go above and beyond. But when that computer is always next to you, when you can do so much from home, it becomes increasingly difficult to achieve any work-life balance. And without that balance, that recharging, burnout is a very real danger.”

His solution was to spread responsibility, providing reassurance that not everything rested on one person’s shoulders. This adaptation not only reduced burnout but also helped maintain the company’s ambitious goals.

This example underscores the need for a more flexible and thoughtful approach to leadership in the modern era. Leaders who can blend the drive for high achievement with empathy for individual employee needs will be better positioned to navigate these evolving landscapes.

The increasing adoption of right-to-disconnect laws around the world signals a significant shift in the way we view work and leadership. While this trend may appear to herald the demise of hard-charging, tough leadership, the reality is more complex. There will always be employees who thrive under pressure and who crave ambitious goals. However, modern leaders have to be attuned to the needs of a diverse workforce, some of whom may value balance and well-being just as much as ambition.

Leadership is less about imposing a one-size-fits-all model and more about understanding the individual needs and motivations of team members. The future of leadership may not mean the extinction of the tough, Pragmatist leader, but rather, the evolution of leadership styles to be more inclusive and adaptable.

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