Don’t let collaboration turn to confusion

The language of leadership used to be that of command and control. I’m not sure anyone ever used those exact words – “I will command, my lieutenants will control and the rest of you will salute and obey” – but there was a militaristic shape to the workings of the typical corporation.

On the upside, decisions could be made fast, and implementation begin without demurral. On the downside, those decisions weren’t always sound, since informed but dissenting voices weren’t automatically heard. And, down at the infantry level, who wants to be the passive recipient of orders when what you are trying to do is sell biscuits or business machines, not mount an armed assault behind enemy lines under cover of darkness? It didn’t exactly make for employee satisfaction, not that such things were much measured then.