He says most large firms’ decision-making processes are consensus-oriented, so when faced with big strategic calls, they default to conservatism and the protection of the status quo.To overcome this inertia, you need strong leaders who are prepared to knock a few heads together and put their credibility on the line. Apple was of course led by such a dominant individual. Zhang, Y., Waldman, D., Han, Y., & Li, X. Alexiev, A., Jansen, J., Van den Bosch, F., & Volberda, H. (2010). Lubatkin, M. H., Simsek, Z., Ling, Y., & Veiga, J. Research has shown that when the functional background heterogeneity of boards of directors is included into the strategy-making, then their knowledge resources can contribute to the relative exploration orientation of an organizationThe roles and behaviors of effective top managers differ considerably from those of middle managers.On the employee level of analysis, both psychological factors and paradoxical leadership of group managers predict employees’ ambidextrous behavior.From a multi-level perspective, many scholars have used the concept of Ambidextrous leadership from a multi-level perspectiveAmbidextrous leadership from a multi-level perspectiveRosing, K., Frese, M., & Bausch, A. But that doesn’t make the transition from top-down control to bottom-up ownership any easier. Exploitation-exploration tensions and organizational ambidexterity: Managing paradoxes of innovation. If you haven’t registered yet, please register and log in.This website uses cookies to distinguish you from other users. What are the warning signs that tell you it’s time to start taking charge? Mom, T., Van Den Bosch, F., & Volberda, H. (2007). Please enter a keyword and click the arrow to search the siteWhat’s best: dictatorial top-down leadership or empowering from the bottom-up? As Daniel Craig’s James Bond character put it in the movie Casino Royale: “So you want me to be half-monk, half-hitman.”How do you know when to step in? To be an ambidextrous leader, you need to step back and seek decisiveness from others. March, J. G. (1991). Transcendent leadership: Strategic leadership in dynamic environments. Exploration refers to search, risk taking, experimentation, and innovation in organizations, whereas exploitationhas to do with refinement, efficiency, implementation, and execution. So, if you seek decisive change and you don’t have formal power, you need to work hard on lobbying and building support before the decision gets made.

Knowledge sharing ambidexterity in long-term interorganizational relationships. Heyden, M. L. M., Oehmichen, J., Nichting, S., & Volberda, H. W. (2015). As a general rule, this empowering style should be your default setting. The social-cognitive underpinnings of employees’ ambidextrous behaviour and the supportive role of group managers’ leadership. Andriopoulos, C., & Lewis, M. (2009). The leaders we see on the magazine covers are by definition successful and somewhat egotistical.

(2019b). California Management ReviewSmith, W. (2014). Microfoundations of performance: Balancing efficiency and flexibility in dynamic environments. Giving power away like this doesn’t come naturally to anyone. We like to think that we want modest and unassuming people to lead us, but the reality is that the larger-than-life figures tend to be the ones we admire. Boards of directors and organizational ambidexterity in knowledge-intensive firms. Im, G., & Rai, A. Over the years, this style has been well documented. Pascal Cagni, former head of Apple Europe, calls this ‘benevolent dictatorship’. Investigating managers’ exploration and exploitation activities: The influence of top-down, bottom-up and horizontal knowledge inflows.

Top management team advice seeking and exploratory innovation: The moderating role of TMT heterogeneity. It takes someone who provides a clear sense of purpose, supports where necessary, and offers freedom to individuals. (2015). They call the shots, and they rule their organisations through a combination of charisma, fear and brute force.Why do management thinkers espouse the virtues of introverted, softly-spoken leaders, when so many of the actual role models in the business world range from boisterous to bully? Eisenhardt, K., Furr, N., & Bingham, C. (2010). Would that be not better to have an ambidextrous information system where the intelligence would emerge and decisions could be made based on facts rather than having a chameleon hero driving the ship?You must be a registered user to add a comment here. Wang, S., Luo, Y., Maksimov, V., Sun, J., & Celly, N. (2019). Paradoxical leadership to enable strategic agility. Achieving temporal ambidexterity in new ventures. If you’ve already registered, please log in. Dynamic decision making: A model of senior leaders managing strategic paradoxes. (2019a). Paradoxical leader behaviors in people management: Antecedents and consequences. Ambidextrous Leadership is the finest art of leadership, as the leader orchestrates an unparalleled balance between optimizing the existing business model and inspiring the people to craft the next one. The benevolent dictator model should only be employed in those unusual situations where big decisive changes are needed. (2015). This continuous flow of disruption has changed investor attitudes and expectations. Over the years, this style has been well documented. If not, the status quo will prevail.To be an ambidextrous leader, you need to step back and seek decisiveness from others. In other words, an ambidextrous leader is one who strives to innovate business value while maximizing operational efficiencies. Pascal Cagni rightly points to the need for benevolent behaviour to temper the autocratic judgments of those at the top, and there is still the need for an overarching governance system to keep such individuals in check. Ahammad, M., Lee, M., Malul, M., & Shoham, A. It refers to the simultaneous use of explorative and exploitative activities by leaders. But in today’s fluid, digitally connected business ecosystems, disruption has become the norm rather than the exception, as wave after wave of upstarts-become-incumbents topple under yet newer competitive threats. Oehmichen, J., Heyden, M. L. M., Georgakakis, D., & Volberda, H. W. (2017). (2011). Lewis, M. W., Andriopoulos, C., & Smith, W. K. (2014). Sure, when a company is in a crisis everyone knows.