Why the Best Leaders Do Less So Teams Do More

Let’s be real for a second. We have all been there. It’s 6:30 PM on a Tuesday. The office is mostly empty, or maybe you’re the last one with the green dot active on Microsoft Teams. You’re staring at a project roadmap that feels less like a plan and more like a wish list, wondering why, despite having a team of smart, capable people, every single decision seems to funnel its way back to your desk.

It’s the "Hero Leader" trap. And if you are a corporate professional working in a sizable organization—whether you are a manager or an aspiring one—you know exactly what this pressure feels like.

But here is the good news: New research from organizational psychology suggests we have been looking at leadership all wrong. We often view it as a binary choice. Either you have a strong boss (Vertical Leadership) OR you have a flat, democratic team (Shared Leadership).

According to a fascinating 2024 study by Dan van Knippenberg and colleagues, effective leadership isn’t about choosing one or the other. It’s about a dynamic interplay between the two. It turns out, the best way to lead is to empower your team to lead themselves, while you act as the architect behind the scenes.

Let’s dive deep into how this works, why it matters for your career, and how you can actually implement it without creating chaos.

The Old Way: The Myth of the All-Knowing Manager

In the traditional corporate structure, which many of us still navigate daily, the "Vertical Leader" is the sun around which the team orbits. You set the goals, you assign the tasks, you solve the conflicts, and you take the heat when things go sideways.

I remember my first "real" corporate management role. I thought my job was to have all the answers. If a team member asked, "How should we approach this client?" I felt a panic rise if I didn’t have an immediate, brilliant strategy. I ended up micromanaging, not because I didn't trust them, but because I thought that was my job.

The result? Bottlenecks. Fatigue. And a team that stopped thinking for themselves because they knew I would just tell them what to do anyway.

This new research flips that script. It argues that Vertical Leadership (the formal boss) and Shared Leadership (the team stepping up) are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they grow together. The stronger the vertical leader is at specific types of behaviors, the more capable the team becomes at leading itself.

The New Dynamic: Vertical and Shared Leadership as Best Friends

So, what does this "dynamic approach" actually look like in the wild?

Think of it less like a military commander and more like a high-performance sports coach. The coach (Vertical Leader) sets the training regimen, builds the strategy, and ensures the players have the right shoes and nutrition. But once the whistle blows? The players on the field (Shared Leadership) are calling the shots, passing the ball, and making split-second decisions without looking at the bench every five seconds.

The authors of the study argue that vertical leadership helps build and support shared leadership in two key ways:

1. Internal Cultivation: Fostering understanding and guiding behavior within the team.
2. External Boundary Spanning: Managing stakeholders and resources outside the team so the team can focus.

This shifts us from a fixed model—"I am the boss, you are the worker"—to a flexible model where leadership flows to whoever has the most relevant expertise at that moment.

The Secret Sauce: Boundary Spanning

Let’s talk about "Boundary Spanning" because it is a buzzword that actually means something valuable. In a large organization, your team often gets blocked by things outside their control: a difficult Compliance department, a frozen budget, or a lack of software licenses.

When you, as the formal leader, engage in boundary spanning, you are fighting those battles for them. You are clearing the runway.

I once worked with a Project Manager who was a master at this. We rarely saw him doing the "actual work" of coding or design. At first, I judged him. I thought, "What does he do all day?" Then I realized: we never had to wait for approval. We never lacked budget. We never got pulled into toxic political meetings with upper management. He was acting as a shield. Because he handled the vertical boundary spanning, we were free to exercise shared leadership on the technical execution.

How to Build Shared Knowledge (The Transactive Memory System)

One of the most actionable takeaways from the Van Knippenberg research is the importance of Shared Knowledge. You cannot expect a team to lead itself if they don't know who is good at what.

In organizational psychology, we often call this a "Transactive Memory System." It’s a fancy way of saying: I don't need to know everything, I just need to know WHO knows everything.

To translate this into practice, you need to move beyond standard introductions.

Try This: The Skill Market Exercise

Instead of the usual "Hi, I’m Sarah and I like hiking" icebreakers, try a deeper session. Guide the team to map out their specific superpowers.

• Who is the Excel wizard?
• Who is the best at calming down angry clients?
• Who understands the legacy code from 2015?

As a leader, your job is to facilitate these discussions. When a problem arises, you shouldn't say, "Here is the solution." You should say, "This looks like a data integrity issue. based on our last session, isn't that Mike’s wheelhouse? Mike, do you want to lead the charge on this one?"

Adopting the Coaching Approach 🧢

If you are currently a formally assigned leader, this research suggests a major pivot in your daily behavior. You need to move from "Directing" to "Coaching."

What does a Coaching Approach look like in a busy corporate office?

1. The Art of the Question

When a team member comes to you with a problem, the instinct is to solve it. Resist.

• Old Way: "Send an email to HR and ask for an extension."
• New Way: "That’s a tricky situation. Who on the team do you think has the best relationship with HR right now? How do you think we should handle it to ensure we don't burn bridges?"

2. Situational Evaluation Tips

Help your team read the room. Often, teams struggle to lead because they lack the political savvy or the "big picture" view that you have.

• Give them tips on how to evaluate situations. "When we present to the VP, remember she cares more about ROI than technical specs. How does that change who should present this slide?"

3. Balancing the Transitions

Shared leadership can sometimes get messy. You might have one dominant personality who tries to hijack the leadership role constantly.

• Your job is to ensure balanced leadership transitions. If "Dave" is always taking charge, you need to step in—not to take over, but to redistribute. "Dave, great points. I know 'Lisa' has a background in risk management. Lisa, what’s your read on this?"

Overcoming the Ego Barrier

Let’s address the elephant in the room: Ego.

For many of us, our identity is tied to being "The Boss." We worked hard for that title. We want the credit. The idea of stepping back and letting the team lead can feel threatening. It triggers a fear: If they do it all, why does the company need me?

Here is the truth: The company needs you more than ever, but for higher-level functions. When you stop getting bogged down in the minutiae of execution, you free yourself up for strategic thinking, talent development, and organizational alignment—the things that actually get you promoted to the next level.

I recall a colleague, let’s call him Marcus, who refused to let go. He had to be CC’d on every email. He had to approve every font choice. His team eventually stopped trying. They became "order takers." When Marcus eventually got sick and was out for two weeks, the team collapsed. Nothing got done.

Contrast that with a leader who builds shared leadership. If they step away for two weeks, the team hums along. That isn’t a sign of redundancy; it’s a sign of leadership excellence.

Practical Steps to Launch Shared Leadership Tomorrow 🛠️

Ready to put this dynamic approach into action? You don’t need to wait for a corporate restructuring. You can start with your immediate circle.

Step 1: The Rules of Engagement Meeting

Call a meeting specifically to talk about how you work together.

• Agenda: "I want us to move toward a model where you guys have more autonomy to lead specific initiatives. Let’s define what that looks like."
• Outcome: Create a charter. When does the team decide? When does the Manager decide?

Step 2: Operational Clarity amp; Buy-In

Engage the team in discussions about objectives. Don't just hand down KPIs (Key Performance Indicators).

• Ask: "Here are the company goals for Q4. How do you think our team can best contribute to this? Which parts excite you?"
• This creates buy-in. People fight harder for a plan they helped write.

Step 3: feedback Loops

Shared leadership requires safety. If someone steps up to lead a project and fails, and you punish them, shared leadership dies instantly.

• Implement "Retrospectives" (borrowed from Agile methodology). Focus on process improvement, not blame.
• "What went well? What didn't? How do we support the next person leading a task like this?"

The Semantics of Success: Optimizing Your Career Vocabulary 📈

Understanding these concepts helps you speak the language of modern management. When you are writing your own self-evaluations or updating your CV, use the right terminology.

Instead of saying "I managed a team of 10," say:

• "Facilitated distributed leadership dynamics within a cross-functional team."
• "Implemented agile methodologies to enhance team autonomy and decision-making."
• "utilized situational leadership to coach team members into subject-matter lead roles."
• "Focused on boundary spanning activities to secure resources and align stakeholder expectations."

These aren't just buzzwords; they signal to senior leadership that you understand the psychology of high-performance teams.

Conclusion: The Flexible Future

The days of the "Great Man" theory of leadership—where one heroic individual drags the organization forward—are fading. The business world is too complex, too fast, and too global for one brain to process it all.

Dan van Knippenberg and his colleagues have highlighted a crucial truth: Leadership is a resource that can be grown. It is not a finite pie where if I give you some power, I have less. It is a candle. If I use my flame to light yours, the room just gets brighter.

As you go back to your office (or log onto your next Zoom call), ask yourself: Am I building followers, or am I building leaders?

The shift to a dynamic, shared leadership model takes courage. It requires trust. And yes, it requires a lot of talking and "alignment" meetings. But the payoff is a resilient, agile team that can weather any storm—even when you’re not there to hold the umbrella.

Let’s start leading smarter, not harder. 👇

What has been your experience with shared leadership? Have you worked in a team where everyone knew exactly when to step up? Or have you been stuck in the "hero trap"? Let me know in the comments!