"As a leader, you have to balance the dichotomy, to be resolute where it matters but never inflexible and uncompromising on matters of little importance." – Jocko Willink
Architects versus engineers. Project manager versus design team. Designer of Record versus contractors. The A/E industry is full of examples of people, ideas, and priorities that, at times, fundamentally oppose each other. Yet, models are coordinated, schedules are met, and buildings complete construction every day. How do project design teams settle the age-old headbutting to complete successful projects? Leadership.
Leadership often presents competing forces that must synergistically cooperate to effectively guide yourself, colleagues, teams, and organizations. In the book The Dichotomy of Leadership, authors Jocko Willink and Leif Babin present the various dichotomies that surface daily in leadership situations. The A/E industry presents unique opportunities to utilize these often opposing principles in practice. In a field that thrives on harmonizing contradictions, the following three dichotomies are particularly relevant for today’s leaders.
Micromanagement Versus Hands-Off Leadership
Principle: Micromanagement and hands-off leadership styles are obviously opposites.
In Chapter 2 of The Dichotomy of Leadership, Willink and Babin describe a dilemma that every professional in the A/E industry has experienced – the tension between micromanagement and laissez-faire leadership.
Everyone has worked for a micromanager: a Designer of Record who demands that design elements be done exactly their way, crushing the creativity of subordinates; or a Project Manager (PM) who requires constant status updates, sacrificing team trust for cover in case of failure. As Willink writes:
“Micromanagement fails because no one person can control multiple people executing a vast number of actions in a dynamic environment, where changes in the situation occur rapidly and with unpredictability.”
The danger is clear: micromanagement stifles growth. In the A/E industry, professional development depends on progressive steps of autonomy—gradually moving from small design contributions to leading projects and markets. Cutting off this pathway not only hurts individuals but jeopardizes the future leadership pipeline of the firm.
Warning signs of micromanagement include teams with no initiative, no creativity, a lack of coordination, and an overall sense of passivity.
On the other side of the dichotomy is hands-off leadership. This occurs when a technical lead tells juniors simply to “design the project” or when a PM disappears between submittals. Here, teams may generate grand ideas that lack alignment with firm goals, creating disarray.
Warning signs of hands-off leadership include teams with no vision, poor internal coordination, misplaced priorities, and too many people vying to lead.
The key is balance. Leaders cannot control every detail, nor can they abandon their teams to chaos. True leadership empowers growth without abdicating responsibility. As Willink reminds us:
“But once again, the key is balance, maintaining the equilibrium where the troops have the guidance to execute but at the same time the freedom to make decisions and lead.”
Focused, but Detached
Principle: Leaders must be attentive to details and not lose track of the larger strategic situation.
"In combat, when you look down the sights of your weapon, your field of view becomes narrow and focused... It is critical, then, to ensure that a leader’s default weapon position should be high port – gun pointed at the sky, standing back to observe with the widest field of vision possible." – Leif Babin
The architecture and engineering (A/E) industry is detail-driven. Submittal deadlines, code compliance, and design precision demand an intense focus. However, as Willink and Babin caution, leaders must avoid becoming so obsessed with details that they lose sight of the bigger picture.
Consider the example of an employee triple-checking every detail of a restroom renovation submittal. Admirable for a junior engineer; concerning for a firm president. Leaders bogged down in minutiae waste valuable time and neglect strategic responsibilities.
Yet, detachment carries its own risks. Leaders too far removed from frontline work cannot represent their teams’ needs, anticipate deliverable timelines, or provide effective guidance. Without understanding the challenges of design software or client requirements, leaders lose credibility and effectiveness.
Babin summarizes the tension:
“This is the dichotomy that must be balanced: to become engrossed in and overwhelmed by the details risks mission failure, but to be so far detached from the details that the leader loses control is to fail the team and fail the mission.”
For A/E leaders, the lesson is clear: engage enough to understand, but step back enough to lead.
A Leader and a Follower
Principle: Every leader must be willing and able to lead, but just as important is a leader’s ability to follow.
"Every leader must be ready and willing to take charge, to make hard, crucial calls for the good of the team and the mission. That is inherent in the very term ‘leader.’ But leaders must also have the ability to follow. This was a difficult dichotomy: in order to be a good leader, you must also be a good follower. Finding that balance is key." – Leif Babin
In the A/E industry, leaders often face the temptation to become either “yes men” who agree to every client or supervisor request, or habitual naysayers who resist all change. Both approaches are rooted in ego and both damage organizations.
“Yes men” chase approval at the expense of time, cost, and scope. Perpetual dissenters, on the other hand, erode morale and obstruct progress. Neither balances the responsibility to lead with the humility to follow.
When balanced well, however, this dichotomy produces powerful results. Leaders who model following empower junior employees, building trust and confidence across the organization. Teams become more willing to lead up the chain of command, creating a culture where leadership thrives at every level.
Babin highlights the cost of neglecting this principle:
“Failing to do this undermines the authority of the entire chain of command... Failing to follow also creates an antagonistic relationship up the chain of command, which negatively impacts the willingness of the boss to take input and suggestions from the subordinate leader and hurts the team.”
By contrast, leaders who judiciously follow accumulate leadership capital. This reservoir of respect and trust allows them to influence when it matters most. For A/E firms, this balance is especially critical in client relationships. Clients are not paying for blind agreement, nor for rigid obstinance. They are paying for thoughtful leadership that can both guide and adapt.
“But when a leader is willing to follow, the team functions effectively and the probability of mission success radically increases. This is the dichotomy to balance: be a leader and a follower.”
The Future Belongs to Balanced Leaders
The architecture and engineering profession thrives on harmonizing contradictions: precision and creativity, individual expertise and collective vision. Leadership in this space is no different.
Micromanagement versus hands-off leadership. Focus versus detachment. Leading versus following. Each dichotomy carries risk if taken to extremes, yet offers strength when balanced.
For leaders in the A/E industry, the challenge—and the opportunity—lies in embracing these tensions not as contradictions to be resolved, but as forces to be balanced. Doing so enables teams, organizations, and ultimately, our built environment to thrive.
