I recently saw Bob Woodward speak about his Watergate experience and his thoughts on the current political situation.
He praised the management style of Kathryn Graham, the former Washington Post publicist. “Mind on, hands off,” is how he described it. She was engaged and also gave him and Bernstein the freedom to do their jobs.
As a leadership style, this is a powerful approach. By simultaneously letting people know that we are interested, supportive and engaged with the issue, and giving them the ability and autonomy to do their job, people can perform powerfully.
We will likely get results that make headlines.