Early in my career, I briefly worked with a manager who completely reshaped my understanding of leadership. She wasn’t the most technically proficient, she often relied on the team for understanding financial modeling, identifying key priorities, and even preparing PowerPoint presentations. She wasn’t particularly skilled in things I once believed defined good management in finance, an environment where precision and expertise were critical. Yet, I discovered that her team was highly engaged, motivated and efficient. So how could they consistently deliver results if their manager wasn’t leading performance by example? It became clear that she had something far more valuable than technical expertise: the ability to build the right team, inspire trust, make people feel valued, and unite them around a shared vision.
That experience challenged everything I thought I knew about leadership. Management was actually not about making the right decisions, spotting the best opportunities, mastering frameworks, optimizing workflows, closely monitoring project, setting the perfect KPIs, or delegating like an air traffic controller. I realized that, following the Pareto principle, 80% of leadership is about values [1], and just 20% is technique [2]. Without a shared purpose, trust, and recognition, even the most well-structured strategies will fall apart. But when the right leader steps in, they do more than direct: they empower, elevate, and inspire. They don’t stifle productivity, innovation, and morale; they unleash it.
80% Leadership is About Values
People commit to purpose, not promises or finish lines. I like to tell a story about a bricklayer searching for work. He enters a tavern asks a first site manager, “What do you offer?”. The first site manager, full of enthusiasm, replies, “You will be revolutionizing the cathedral-building industry.” Ambitious and eager, the bricklayer accepts, drawn to the bold vision. But he quickly realizes that the manager is all talk. He is constantly exaggerating, overpromising, and using corporate visionary jargon without ever focusing on execution. Nothing kills motivation faster than a vision built on empty slogans, detached from the reality of daily work. Disillusioned, the bricklayer quits and returns to the tavern. He turns to a second site manager and asks, “What do you offer?”. The manager, indifferent and unbothered, simply replies, “You’ll just be laying bricks.”
Now cynical from his previous experience, the bricklayer accepts, preferring straightforward instructions over vague visions and lofty missions. However, without a bigger purpose, the role soon becomes monotonous. Day after day, he follows repetitive orders, completing disconnected tasks with no context or curiosity. Once again, he disengages not because the work is hard, but because it feels meaningless. Finally, the bricklayer returns to the tavern and approaches the third site manager.
This time, he doesn’t ask what’s on offer. Instead, he says “I don’t need a dream to chase or a list to follow. I need a reason to care, and a path to act. I want to understand what is expected of me and why it concretely matters.” So the third site manager, speaking with quiet confidence, replies, “You’ll be building a church for our local preacher. He needs to settle in by the end of the year so he can serve the entire village, something the community specifically asked for.” This time, the bricklayer stays. Not because the work changed, but because the meaning did. With a clear purpose and tangible actions, he remained engaged, bringing not just his skills, but also ownership, drive, initiative, and creativity.
This story illustrates what strong leadership looks like: the ability to connect vision and execution. A good leader translates abstract corporate strategies into clear, achievable, and actionable roadmaps without ambiguity and without withholding information. For instance, he won’t just say “I want my department to be the company leader in AI-powered marketing.” Instead he will make the goal more relatable: “Our objective is to automate 30% of manual reporting by next semester so our team can focus on higher-value analysis for our 500 clients and help them drive an additional $2 million in revenue.” It also works the other way around by connecting daily tasks to momentum and to an inspiring bigger picture.
Trust is earned in drops and lost in buckets. Trust isn’t built through grand speeches, polished mission statements, or formal authority. It’s earned one consistent action at a time. The most effective way for managers to align their actions with their words isn’t by striving for perfection, but by being reliable, honest, and accountable. If they make a promise, they keep it. If they can’t deliver, they’re upfront about it. Psychologist Barbara Fredrickson, building on organizational research, developed the concept of the Losada Ratio: high-performing teams maintain roughly three positive interactions for every negative one. So trust takes months to build and minutes to lose. And once the team realizes that their word holds no weight, no amount of technical expertise will restore it.
For example, I once worked with a Business Intelligence manager who promised to resolve a long-standing issue with territory allocation in the operational reporting. Weeks went by. Tickets were raised. Nothing changed. The marketing team didn’t just grow frustrated because the problem persisted, they grew resentful because the manager’s repeated assurances became meaningless. Eventually, after a quarter, trust broke down entirely. The team became suspicious, even paranoid, believing the BI team was deliberately ignoring their needs.
But trust isn’t only earned or lost in major moments. It’s also built in the details. When managers admit they don’t have an answer and take the initiative to either redirect the request or come back with a response by a clear deadline, that builds trust. When a project hits a roadblock, and a leader steps in to take responsibility rather than assign blame, that builds trust.
Defending the team when things go wrong, showing them that they’ve got their back, not just in words but in action, strengthens their credibility. Even something as simple as consistently replying to emails or addressing small concerns without being reminded builds a reputation for being dependable. Over time, it’s this consistency that establishes trust. And once trust is there, people don’t just listen, they follow.
Respect is the quiet force that holds everything together. Respect is more than politeness, it’s about recognition, inclusion, and active listening. A strong leader acknowledges every contribution, from the sales rep closing high-value deals to the operations manager uploading leads, segmenting prospects and fixing system bugs. It’s easy to celebrate big visible wins, but true respect is shown in how leaders value the analytics and operational work that happens behind-the-scenes, the daily efforts that often go unnoticed.
Respect also means ensuring every role and every voice is heard. Sales teams are often more vocal and persuasive than technical teams. They often express frustration when operations or data teams don’t move as quickly as expected, especially when tasks seem simple from their perspective. But good leadership doesn’t pick sides. A thoughtful manager takes a step back and makes space for different communication styles and priorities.
By connecting with both teams, a leader usually quickly sees te following redundant core issue: a mutual lack of visibility. So they bridge the gap. They remind technical teams of the pressuring revenue targets salespeople need to hit and they prioritize the responses they need to support their goals. At the same time, the manager communicates back to sales in clear, non-technical language the timelines and service level agreements (SLAs) they will have to abide by and provides high-level explanations that create transparency and reduce tension. That context builds empathy.
This mindset also extends to coaching and empowerment. If a developer struggles to present updates to a client, a great leader doesn’t sideline them but they show empathy. They help the developer feel more comfortable by clarifying what the client needs to hear, how to structure it, and what format will be most effective. Support builds confidence, and confidence builds contribution. Beyond communication, respect is rooted in genuine human connection. It’s checking in not just on tasks, but on people. It’s showing interest in their ideas, recognizing their growth, and making sure they feel valued as individuals, not just as resources. A leader who listens, acknowledges, and supports their team doesn’t just create alignment, they create loyalty.
Good leaders don’t just articulate the values we’ve reviewed so far, they lead with discernment and seek those same values in others. Leadership is also about intuition: the ability to recognize potential, alignment, and integrity in the people you choose to work with. Because you don’t build execution on vision alone, you build it with people who believe in it alongside you.
20% Leadership is Still Technical Skills
Delegating is about empowering. Delegation is more than handing off tasks. It is about empowering people with clear ownership and direction. Poor delegation often looks like dumping work without context, leaving employees uncertain about priorities, expectations, or the bigger picture. This usually results in wasted time, confusion, weak outcomes and, at worst, the demoralizing feeling of being reduced to a task-doer with no real value.
Effective delegation begins with the manager structuring the request properly: identifying the scope, breaking down complex projects into manageable, prioritized components, and aligning them with quarterly business objectives and the team’s broader mission. A well-prepared brief is essential to define clear objectives and expectations. It should provide context, outline expected deliverables, flag potential roadblocks, and eliminate ambiguity. Key questions must be answered upfront: What’s the goal? What’s the deadline? What resources are available? How will progress be tracked? And most importantly, who influences and who owns the outcome? Without clear accountability, responsibility gets diluted, and that often leads to last-minute panic or finger-pointing when problems arise.
But delegation doesn’t stop at assignment, itrequires proactive follow-up. It’s not about micromanaging but about staying involved just enough to clear roadblocks before they slow things down. Regular check-ins focused on support and problem-solving, rather than control, will help keep momentum high and ownership intact.
Decision-making is a discipline, not an art. Good decision-making starts with asking the right questions. Often, managers have deeper expertise and can serve as strategic or technical mirrors for the team. But sometimes, they don’t have the answer and the team needs support in clarifying what they’re solving, what’s at stake, and what paths are available. In these moments, managers become facilitators, guiding the team to structure their thinking and avoid making decisions in isolation.
I’ve worked with a leader who relied on a simple but effective framework: what, now what, so what. First, the team would define the problem clearly and objectively: what exactly are we dealing with. Then, we would explore potential responses that can be actioned given our resources and constraints. Finally, we would assess the implications of each option, its risks, trade-offs and alignment with long-term priorities. This approach forced us to focus on what actually mattered and cut through noise. It helped us move beyond opinion-based discussions and align quickly on next steps.
In fast-moving or high-pressure environments, decisions need to be made faster, but still grounded in good judgment. That’s where the OODA Loop comes in: Observe, Orient, Decide, Act. Teams first gather and interpret information; then they assess the context, including internal biases and external factors; next, they choose the best course of action; and finally they adjust it based on feedback. It’s an iterative model originally built for military environments where strategy evolves in real time.
For more structured management and prioritization, the Eisenhower Matrix offers a practical filter. It helps distinguish what needs immediate attention from what’s just noise. Urgent and important tasks are handled now. Important but not urgent tasks are scheduled. Urgent but less important tasks are delegated. Everything else is eliminated. This prevents teams from confusing speed with impact and keeps energy where it matters most. In the end, good leadership in decision-making isn’t about having the answer. It’s about guiding the process that helps the team find the right one.
Favoring monitoring over micromanaging. There’s a fine line between being available and being overbearing, and the best leaders know how to navigate it. They don’t disappear and let chaos take over, nor do they suffocate their team with constant check-ins and unnecessary oversight. Instead, they remain approachable, present, and supportive without slowing things down. Striking this balance requires knowing when to step in and when to step back. The manager should recognize when a tough decision requires firm direction and when it’s best to encourage discussion and empower the team to find compromises. Too much control stifles creativity and ownership, while too little leaves teams feeling unsupported and directionless.
So how to stay engaged without micromanaging? First, by setting clear expectations. Micromanagement often stems from uncertainty. When the team doesn’t know what’s expected, the manager feels the need to check in constantly. Instead, he should define clear objectives, timelines and success metrics upfront, just as we’ve outlined in the two previous sections. This gives the team autonomy while maintaining alignment. Next, the manager should create a rhythm of check-ins. Replace ad hoc interruptions with predictable, structured updates. A weekly sync, a mid-project review, or a simple progress report gives managers visibility without disrupting flow, and gives teams space to execute.
By encouraging ownership, employees will gradually take initiative, tracking their own progress, comparing results, and seeking feedback. And if that doesn’t come naturally, it’s the manager’s role to offer coaching and support that develops autonomy without unnecessary hand-holding. Because ultimately, leadership is about guidance, not control. I’d rather be asked, “What’s blocking you, and how can I help?” than “What’s the status?” The former shifts the dynamic from oversight to support, building trust and accountability. This approach allows the manager to apply the 90/10 rule, spending 90% of their time monitoring through structured reporting, KPIs, and regular touchpoints, and reserving direct intervention for the 10% of moments that truly require it. It keeps leaders close to the work without hovering over it or interfering with progress.
To conclude, technique is critical, but it’s only as powerful as the foundation it rests on. The 20% is the engine; the 80% is the fuel. Without the human layer incorporating a vision that resonates, trust that holds, respect that binds, technical skill becomes hollow. Leadership doesn’t start with doing things right. It starts with doing the right things, for the right reasons, with the right people. And that part is all values.
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To read more about good vs bad management, check out this blog post The Story of Insights Right and the Seven Toxic Managers.