Spikes And Stories

Transactional leadership makes me cringe. Transactional leaders focus on title and hierarchy. They search for and crave prestige and authority. It all feels so political, and it’s a real problem for me.

You manage things. You lead people.

Grace Hopper

Maybe it’s quotes like this that began my rub. Or maybe it’s my preference for what I typically call relational leadership. Research agrees that transformational (aka relational) leaders have a positive effect on employee retention so why wouldn’t we always leverage a relationship-first style of leading our people?

Then again, maybe I’ve had it wrong all this time. Maybe they’re not so bad, and at times, maybe I’m a transactional leader myself.

Scary thought.

People often talk about the value of a bias toward action. I know I did, but I believe I was mistaken. Why? No one thinks they lack a bias toward action. After all, busyness and productivity are hard to tell apart. For example, I remember a younger me who didn’t have GPS. When I was lost, I would never stop and ask for direction. So while I was putting miles on the car, I really wasn’t going anywhere.

My point is I think it’s time we reframe our notion of action. Let’s call it a bias toward progress instead. It’s forward movement we’re after, right? Or maybe it’s conscious or intentional movement since sometimes going backward or sideways teaches us something important. So how does a bias toward action differ from a bias toward progress? Let’s talk about that today.