The differing leadership styles and the importance of defining accountability at the top of your organisation.

“Taking meetings whilst still stretching out his legs on the desk… versus a chaotic entrance brimming with stress and anxiety.”

I came across an article recently about differing leadership styles and the importance of defining accountability for driving the business forward. It jogged some memories of some of the leaders I’ve come across in my career to date. In particular, a couple of really wonderful co-owners of an agency in London. 

I look back on this particular client with alot of fondness, a lot of fun memories, a huge amount of laughs but also tinged with regret, that if I knew back then what I knew now, maybe we would have got to the goals faster and maybe reduced everyone’s stress levels somewhat too! . 

In this wonderful office, was a wealth of talent and everyone loved working there (most of the time) … at the helm, two wonderful co-owners, both highly experienced, both highly motivated but absolute polar opposites in terms of their leadership styles and their contribution to the business. 

The first owner was full of energy, he’d run or cycle into work every day, he’d run rings quite literally around his team, many of whom were half his age. He would burst into the office in the morning, still jogging on the spot, he brought the laughs, he had the silly weekend stories, notably he’d still be lunging or stretching his legs on the desk as he started the morning meeting and we’d all roll our eyes but his character was infectious. He had the team on his side, he asked and you’d do. He would get through his tasks, get things done and leave with a smile on his face, off to some event which you’d hear all about the next morning. 

The second owner, he was the steady hand at the helm, he brought safety and security. He was the same age but he felt like the daddy of the business. He was highly regarded and highly experienced. He was great with the clients, the big picture thinker and had a clear strategy on how to get there. It probably wasn’t sexy or exciting but it’d work. His entrance was different though, he worried about the details, he would enter the office head down, brimming with stress and anxiety having worried all night about delivering a project. 

What I know now, with absolute clarity, is that we wasted so much time whilst they both sat in “co-owner” role, with no clear definition of who did what. They would attend all meetings jointly, everything was done as a team, we would often hear them debating in the office about how to move forward but everything was done together, slowly but steadily getting to their goal. 

It was so clear that they were completely different characters with completely different skill sets. If they defined their roles at the offset, we would have had two very talented leaders that would have moved forward faster without having to consistently check with the other and been able to take ownership of their department/area. 

EOSⓣ define these roles really well as the Visionary and the Integrator – You can call them many different terms but this is the best fit for me. 

Simply put the first owner was clearly the person that should have managed the team, the businesses biggest asset, he had them on side, he was the smasher of tasks, he loved to complete a list of actions and he had the energy and drive to do that day in and day out. He made things happen and without being tied up in tape. I’ve no doubt the team would have been better managed, more efficient and more motivated for it. He didn’t care for long meetings and wrangling with clients over contracts, he wanted to know what needed to be done and he’d be accountable for it happening. 

The second owner was more comfortable with the clients, he wasn’t scared of the big conversations, he was hard facts and strategy. Clients felt comfortable with him, they valued his experience, he embodied the company and its values. He was passionate about discovery and innovation but was less fired up by the day to day. He was a big picture thinker. . 

By defining your roles at a senior level, things become more agile, you can get to your goals faster with clear accountability in place. This should happen across the entire business but at the top level, it really does matter and it really will make the difference when you’re trying to scale and grow. 

I can give 10 more examples of where this has worked well or failed badly. My clients that are seeing the most growth right now, they ALL have this in place. Whether it be co owners or a single business owner with a clearly defined management team. It’s such an important decision to get right.