TENSION in business can be defined as the productive push and pull between differing ideas, roles and goals that, when managed well, drives innovation, clarity, and growth.
Instead of avoiding conflict, effective leaders harness it to drive progress.
In environments where resources are stretched, markets are shifting, decisions are often high stakes; leaders learn to balance opposing forces without creating dysfunction, that is, cost savings vs innovation investment; short-term gains vs long-term growth; consensus vs decisiveness.
Below are some real world examples of healthy tension in leadership:
Control vs empowerment
Balancing oversight with autonomy builds trust and agility.
Controlling leadership hinges on close supervision and directives, while empowering leadership promotes autonomy and trust in decision making.
Usually tension between control and empowerment arises when a manager does not want to give their subordinates the leeway to be autonomous in making decisions carrying out their tasks.
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There are some managers who focus on control rather than empowering their subordinates; in that scenario workers would feel stifled in creativity.
When employees feel that they are closely monitored, they become disengaged.
Moreover they cannot explore and discover new ways of efficiently doing work.
However, when a manager gives the subordinates autonomy that boosts their confidence and feel motivated and trusted.
This type of work environment breeds increased employee morale and the ability to fail fast, in a safe work structure.
Individual performance vs team goals
These are very distinct, but intertwined pillars of organisational structure.
Individual performance focuses on the employee’s individual contribution, or achievements in their specific role.
On the other hand, team goals represent the collective objectives and milestones a group aims to achieve together.
A star performer has to be rewarded and encouraged to collaborate with others.
It is the duty of a manager to align the workforce to the vision and mission of the organisation and forge team-work and create a conducive working environment.
Notably individuals assigned to work on certain projects could be productive and produce higher output.
However, working alone might be disadvantageous to the success of the organisation as it stifles creativity and innovation while team-work is more encouraged as it helps employees become more collaborative and bounce ideas from one another.
This creates an opportunity to learn from other team members and build on psychological safety for the team members involved.
Effective organisations recognise the value of both, aiming to align individual efforts with team goals to maximise overall performance. .
Confidence vs humility
It is very crucial to maintain a good balance of confidence and humility as a leader.
Confident leaders tend to inspire trust and vision by being exemplary leaders and driving a culture that articulates the direction of the organisation with clarity.
This creates a conducive working environment for discussions and open dialogue.
For example, when an organisation is faced with a challenge, a confident and knowledgeable leader will come up with strategies on how to navigate the challenge or a crisis while inspiring the team to trust the process.
Humble leaders foster collaboration and a learning organisation, because of their willingness to receive feedback and learn from the resources around them.
Humble leaders do not take issue in standing the gap when they make mistakes.
A good balance is what is called confident humility leadership; which focuses on self-awareness, continuous learning and active listening.
This type of leader inspires trust, fosters collaboration and achieves success.
Strategic vs operational focus
This is the tension in delivering daily performance while steering long-term organisational vision.
Strategic leadership focuses on defining the long-term direction, while operational leadership will ensure that the day-to-day operations run without a glitch.
A manager must be a visionary person and set short and long term goals that are in line with the mission and vision of the company.
The manager has to possess the ability to identify human resources that would align with the day to day operations of the business to the strategic plan.
If there is no alignment between the strategic and operational focus, there could be a risk that the company might not realise its vision.
A strategic plan aids management in giving direction to the organisation, while operational focus is there to break down the task into simpler forms that could be carried out easily.
Signs of unhealthy tension
Passive-aggressive behaviour
One of the signs of passive behaviour is that at times, an employee would be withdrawn and does not want to be part of the team conversation.
Such employees avoid engagement and usually they do not contribute in meetings, while workers who possess aggressive behaviour most of the time bully other employees and intimidate them.
Avoiding difficult conversations
Such workers keep to themselves and avoid difficult conversations that could help bring out solutions to the problem faced by the organisation.
They fear being criticised.
Power struggle or turf wars
This power struggle usually arises when resources are limited.
The struggle is usually a result of roles and responsibilities not being clearly defined.
Great leaders navigate business tension with clarity and empathy, using it to build stronger relationships, make better decisions, and align their teams toward shared organisational goals.
Ultimately, managing leadership tension well is not about eliminating conflict, but about transforming it into a force for organisational resilience and positive change.
