Now and then, places, ideas, people, and things may tend to impair your drive and resolve. In leadership, one has to make sure that the blacks and whites are both well-defined and duly adhered to. In the case of an issue, the first thing to be determined is whether or not the protocol was duly followed. Most times, we can tell for sure, but in some cases, it will be a lot more difficult to determine. Those areas of uncertainty can be termed “Gray Leadership.”

To begin, we shall define what gray leadership is so that we can learn how to handle it.

Gray Leadership Defined

That leadership situation of either maintaining or slightly deviating from laid out protocol with the aim of satisfying all parties is called gray leadership.

A lot of people may wonder that protocol must be adhered to at all times, but it is not always easy to maintain all guidelines because of these internal and external factors:

Internal Factors:

• Aversion to unpleasant circumstances
• The dread of confrontation and possible negative results

External Factors:

• The involvement of loved ones
• The risk of both options seeming negligible

Gray Leadership Effects

The interaction of internal and external factors, as well as the lack of clarity of a solution based on a standard protocol, signal the activation of gray leadership. What this means is that the leader is not sure of what move would be the best to make next, and thus leadership will seem poorly equipped to deal with the issue at hand, or unable to make a sound decision.

At such times when the guidelines become unclear, there is a great risk of expensive mistakes. What is the solution to this?

Dealing with Gray Leadership

Gray leadership is the gray area that lies between the black and white sides of protocol and established principles, as well as internal and external factors, emotions and special situations. This area of doubt and uncertainty affects decisions, approach and timing.

Here are the most effective solutions we know:

• Weighing the pros and cons honestly and fairly
• Being tactful

Having the right motives for what we do and doing them in the right manner and at the right time is the best approach. Still, at times, external and internal factors may cast shadows on the guidelines and affect the leader’s ability to make sound decisions.

– This content is for personal use only. This content is not to be duplicated.