Tag Archives: Pendulum Swing

Lead by Design Beyond the Quick Fix

Illustration split into two halves showing a transition from chaos to clarity. On the left, overlapping calendar alerts and warning signs read “Urgent,” “Deadline missed,” “Meeting,” and “Overdue,” surrounded by tangled lines, alarm icons, and blurred figures rushing in confusion. On the right, the scene is calm and organized: a person reviews a clean technical blueprint on a drafting table with rulers, pens, and a tablet, suggesting focused planning and structured problem-solving. A large arrow in the center points from the chaotic left side to the orderly right side, symbolizing a shift from overwhelm to clarity and control.

In my last article, we looked at the reactive impulses that often steer our leadership when the stakes are high. Whether we find ourselves over-functioning to “rescue” a project or leaning into rigid control to “enforce” a result, these responses are often just different ways of trying to resolve the same thing: the Accountability-Support Tension.