Most Leaders Have a Default Move (That’s the Risk)

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Here’s a quick leadership truth:

Most leaders don’t struggle because they’re bad at leading.
They struggle because they’re too good at one move—and use it everywhere.

Here’s a simple way to see it.

The Leadership 2×2

Leaders operate along two choices:

How you show up

• Criticize → push, challenge, raise standards

• Comfort → support, reassure, build trust

How you operate

• Create → build, invent, start things

• Curate → decide, refine, prioritize

That gives us four leadership modes:

• The Challenger (push + invent)

• The Judge (push + decide)

• The Steward (support + refine)

• The Builder (support + build)

All useful.
All risky when overused.

The Real Problem

• Camp in pushing → burnout

• Camp in supporting → stagnation

• Camp in building → chaos

• Camp in deciding → bureaucracy

Teams feel this before leaders do.

A 2-Minute Leadership Reset

Ask yourself:

• What’s my default move under pressure?

• What does my team need right now—push or support?

• Do we need to build something new—or clean something up?

Then make one small shift this week.

Leadership isn’t about having a style.
It’s about reading the moment and adjusting.

That’s getting slightly smarter at leading. 🙂

— Andrew

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