Lauren Dreyer, who leads a strategy transformation team at Fidelity Investments, faced a significant wake-up call when a top performer revealed her struggles with burnout. This encounter led Dreyer to reevaluate her leadership style, realizing that her approach had been counterproductive. As she shifted from a traditional top-down leadership model to a distributed leadership model, team members began sharing decision-making and accountability. This change not only enhanced productivity but also addressed employee well-being, creating a more supportive work environment.
The transition required patience and persistence, as team members had to adapt to new dynamics where owning decisions became the norm. Dreyer encouraged her team to create their own work plans and fostered an atmosphere where saying ‘no’ was acceptable, paving the way for essential discussions about capacity. Though challenging, this approach allowed the team to focus their efforts on actual execution, shifting from spending 80% of their time on overhead to 80% on delivering results. This structural shift resulted in increased satisfaction for both Dreyer and her staff, marking a significant cultural transformation within the organization.
👉 Pročitaj original: MIT Sloan Management Review
