Command & Control: The Antithesis of Change

Are your leaders stuck in a command-and-control paradigm—and don’t even realize it?

Every leader wants to be seen as forward-thinking and progressive. I believe that, and most leaders think they are. But here’s the challenge: employees are increasingly asking for more empowerment and the freedom to work how and when they want, optimizing their own workflows. That sounds great in theory—until leaders ask themselves,

how do we run a business if everyone thinks they’re in charge?

Here’s the paradox: we say we want employees to “take ownership” and “have agency,” yet we hesitate, believing they’re not ready. Or is it that we’re the ones who aren’t ready?

Change is an Exchange

Change hinges on three key drivers:

1. Conviction

2. Choice

3. Control

Leaders typically hold all three. They’re convinced of the need for change, they decide what actions to take, and they maintain control over how it’s implemented. Employees, on the other hand, often have none of these at the organizational level—so they assert them on an individual level.

And this is where the standoff begins:

Us vs. Them.

But it doesn’t have to be this way. What if we reframed change as an exchange? When leaders are willing to share these drivers—

conviction, choice, and control

—with their employees, employees will, in turn, align their individual drivers with the organization’s goals. Until we as leaders initiate this exchange, we’ll struggle to enact meaningful change. Employees may slow-walk initiatives or actively resist them.

From Convincing to Co-Creation

Most leaders think their role is to “convince” people to see things their way. But what employees truly need is the opportunity to co-create the reasons for change, have a voice in the choices being made, and share control over the path forward.

Conclusion

As the saying goes, “You can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink.” This is the limit of the old command-and-control approach. Change initiatives fail when leaders hoard the three Cs, leaving employees disengaged and resistant. When we stay locked in command-and-control mode, we refuse to share the organizational levers of conviction, choice, and control. And in doing so, we make it harder to achieve the collective success we’re striving for. The tighter we cling to our three Cs, the more elusive real change becomes—even when it benefits everyone.