TL;DR
- Leading in any direction requires the consistent, intentional energy discussed in “The Simple Act”, without a regulated self, your influence on others is just noise.
- Displaying timely and appropriate vulnerability to peers builds a mature bond of trust, while doing so for your direct reports builds the psychological safety required for them to speak up.
- You are a member of a peer team and a leader of a functional team; success in one does not automatically translate to the other, be aware of growing discontent.
The Split Identity
Most executives live in a state of perpetual topography changes. In one hour, you are a peer among giants, debating enterprise strategy. In the next, you are the boss, responsible for the morale and output of a team with a more focused perspective.
The pain point isn’t just the schedule and constant pivots; it’s the intent. Many high-performing executive teams feel like they are winning, but beneath their feet, the lands are shifting. The functional teams, the people who actually move the heavy machinery of the business, feel neglected, unsupported, or forgotten. When you are too focused on being a great peer or executive, your direct reports feel like they’ve lost their champion.
Navigating the Paths of Self and Peers
1. Intentionality is the Anchor
Regardless of which team you are standing in front of, your effectiveness is tied to your Behavioral View. As we explored in The Simple Act, if you haven’t managed your own cognitive and emotional energy, your effectiveness in tailoring your approach to each team is diminished. Leading a peer team requires a horizontal influence, while leading a department requires vertical clarity. If you aren’t intentional, you’ll find yourself wearing the wrong hat in the wrong room.
2. The Audience-First Feedback Loop
Tailoring your communication isn’t about changing your values; it’s about exposing the necessary strengths at the right time.
With your peers, conversation is about enterprise outcomes and trade-offs. However, with your team conversation is about support, roadblocks, and listening for the faint signals of friction. Your role is unique in each arena. If you treat your direct reports like a peer board, you risk being aloof. If you treat your peers like your direct reports, you risk eroding trust and necessarily safe environments.
Real Unlock: Blending of context. Your team grows with clarity, especially when the enterprise is shifting and transforming. Providing that big picture perspective to your team can be a superpower. Your peers need stories to personalize the efforts of your team. Stories build emotional connection across the full spectrum of leadership.
3. Vulnerability as a Structural Reinforcement
We often think of vulnerability as weakness, but in the Leadership Ridge, it is a structural reinforcement.
- In the Peer Group: Admitting you don’t have the answer or that your department is struggling creates a First Team bond (as described by Patrick Lencioni). It allows the executive team to solve for the enterprise instead of just protecting their silos.
- In Your Functional Team: Encouraging vulnerability creates a psychologically safe environment. When the leader admits a mistake or acknowledges a challenge, the space feels safer for other team members to bring real issues to the surface before they become crises. Beyond risk aversion, thoughtful risk taking and innovation are also cornerstones of safe teams.
The First Team Trap
In The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team, Patrick Lencioni argues that an executive’s First Team must be their peers, not their direct reports. While this is true for enterprise alignment, it creates a dangerous emotional gap if not handled with care. An enterprise hero and CHRO who is a in the C-suite, they are aligned with the CEO, they win every boardroom debate, and they feel the high of enterprise success. But back in the HR department, the team feels like they are on an island. They feel like their leader is too corporate and doesn’t fight for the resources they need or give them the time and respect they deserve. The enterprise is winning, but the functional engine is smoking. To bridge this, you must realize that being a member of a high-performing team and leading one are two different acts. They require different feedback loops and different perspectives of success.
My Perspective
I’ve said that leaders wear too many hats. The trick is being intentional about which one is on your head before you walk through the door. I have found that sometimes a visual cue is the most effective way to manage this Self-Path transition. For me, it might be the standard cover slide of a team presentation or even the physical layout of a specific meeting room. When I see that cue, it triggers a mental switch: “I am no longer the peer-collaborator; I am the functional-architect.” To maintain influence, you must build intentional connections across both teams into your daily routines. It’s not about doing more work; it’s about ensuring your focus and energy area where they belong.
I’ve sat in both seats, the leader begging for a clear answer and the architect trying to build a centralized truth. The reality is, the best report is the one that gets used. Period.
About the research
This article navigates the Leadership Ridge and the Self and Peer Paths, applying the Behavioral and Temporal Views of the Ridgeline Leadership Operating Model. Influences include but are not limited to: The 5 Dysfunctions of a Team & The Advantage (Patrick Lencioni) regarding the First Team philosophy. The impact of psychological safety on team output across many readings and analysis by Amy Edmondson, and The Ridgeline Research Graph synthesis of intentionality and cognitive role-switching.
