Whether you are an IC or a leader, you will operate with one of two leadership styles - the one where comfort takes priority or where the key driving factor is competition.

Depending on your personality you will be naturally inclined towards one of the two, but doing it in excess is detrimental. Knowing how to strike the right balance is key to driving great outcomes.

The comfort-driven leadership benefits in research and exploration work where the output is uncertain. Given the ambiguity of the task, it is essential to create an environment where teams and peers feel secure, supported, and valued.

But, doing this in excess leads to complacency, and there have been many projects at big techs that keep getting delayed or are shipped with subpar quality because of this operating style.

That’s where the second style comes in which thrives on competition to drive excellence. It is all about pushing the teams to their limits by setting ambitious goals and fostering a sense of healthy rivalry (within or outside the team).

This approach can be incredibly effective in high-pressure situations, like taking the product from 0 to 1, during critical releases, or reacting to a competitor’s feature release. The adrenaline rush is what gets the team to put in twice the effort to ship in half the time.

This can yield impressive results in short bursts, but it is not sustainable in the long term. It gets things done quickly and can bring out the best in high-performing individuals. This almost always leads to burnout and attrition when the expected results and outcomes are not seen.

Introspect your leadership type and build an intuition to switch between these styles and maximize the outcome. Know which emotion to trigger, when, why, and how to achieve the desired outcome.

More importantly, know which team members respond to which motivators and tweak the style to bring out the best in each individual. But almost always, create a healthy environment where team members feel secure enough to take risks and experiment, but also motivated to push their limits and deliver excellence.

Leadership is not about extremes; it’s about leveraging the equilibrium.