Command & Control — Why it’s OK, and Not OK

Mental Model Dōjō pre-session video

Transcript

On Feb 21, 2024, hence the Lunar New Year décor in the background in case you’re wondering, at our Mental Model Dōjō session we’re discussing, or if you’re watching this video after the session, we’ve discussed the topic of how to make the shift from “instructing” leadership, which I describe as a polite form of command and control leadership, to a more coaching and facilitative style of leadership. The concept of “instructing leadership” looks like my own creation as it doesn’t come up on Google, so I thought I’d provide some context ahead of the session.

First, let’s take a step back and look at “command & control”. In modern leadership education, command and control is assumed as a vice, a necessary evil, a not a good thing. Hmm, is that really so?

Here’s my position, and I’ll do so by distinguishing control and command as separate things.

On control; as a state, as a result, it’s good to have things under control. So, control as a noun is a good thing.

But control as a verb, applied to people, is the trouble. I consider that there are three patterns of responses we get from…