Clarity is a Leadership Strategy

In the world of productivity and project delivery, we often hear that modern leadership should be collaborative, coaching-focused, and emotionally intelligent.

And it should — most of the time.

But not always.

There’s one leadership style that doesn’t get enough credit:
Directive behavioural orientation.

It’s not about micromanaging. It’s about stepping in decisively when the situation calls for it.

Table of Contents

• 🔧 What does it look like?

• 📊 When should you use it?

• ⚠️ The trap to avoid

• 🎯 Action step:

🔧 What does it look like?

Let’s say you’re leading a team during a plant shutdown, or you're handling a major system failure. It’s not the time for long debates or consensus building.

Instead, you might say:

That’s directive leadership in action:
✅ Clear
✅ Confident
✅ Immediate

📊 When should you use it?

Directive orientation works best when:

• Your team lacks experience or is unsure what to do

• A crisis demands quick, decisive action

• The task is technical, critical, or tightly time-bound

• You need to cut through uncertainty and provide structure

Used in the right context, this style builds trust — not fear.
Because people crave clarity, especially under pressure.

⚠️ The trap to avoid

If used all the time, directive leadership becomes a bottleneck.
People stop thinking for themselves. Creativity dries up.

The key is knowing when to switch styles — from directive to supportive, coaching, or delegative — depending on the situation and your team’s maturity.🧭 Your leadership check-in

This week, ask yourself:

• Where in my project could clarity speed things up?

• Am I being too vague when urgency demands direction?

• When was the last time I gave a firm, confident instruction?

🎯 Action step:

Pick one area in your work where people keep asking questions.
Instead of repeating yourself or hoping they’ll figure it out, write a clear, directive instruction — no more than 20 words.
Test it. Measure the response.

Because sometimes, people don’t need more time.
They need you to be clear.

See you next Saturday!