Fear Your Strengths

Versatility—The Idea and the Ideal

In the face of leadership tensions, such as those between forceful and enabling styles or strategic and operational areas of focus, many managers experience cognitive dissonance. They perceive polar opposites, not yin-and-yang complements. Rather than fall victim to a false dichotomy, however, leaders can learn to embrace both sides, even if it seems counterintuitive. They can, as Steve Jobs did, learn to overcome the paradox and become more versatile. We have worked with many executives who have done so, and it is always interesting to see their reactions when the light dawns. “You can’t just be one thing,” one senior manager told us. “You have to be big-picture and little-picture. You have to be a big power ...