Distributed Leadership – Lean, IPD Series Feat. Spencer Easton

The Boss Who Holds All the Cards Loses

There is a type of leader who hoards information. They keep the plan in their head. They make every decision. They require signatures on everything. They bottleneck the team because nothing moves without their approval. And when you ask them why they operate this way, they will tell you it is about control. It is about quality. It is about making sure things get done right. But the truth is simpler and uglier. They are afraid. Afraid of losing power. Afraid of being exposed. Afraid that if they let go, the team will realize they are not as essential as they pretend to be. And that fear costs projects speed, innovation, trust, and results.

Here is what happens on a project led by a hierarchical boss. The superintendent needs approval to make a decision. But the project manager is in a meeting. So work stops. A foreman sees a problem coming. But he does not speak up because the last time he challenged the plan, he got shut down. So the problem surfaces three weeks later when it is expensive to fix. A trade partner has a better way to sequence the work. But they do not suggest it because nobody asked for their input. And the project limps along behind schedule and over budget while the boss wonders why the team is not performing. The answer is the boss. The boss created a system where the team cannot perform because everything flows through one person. And that person is the bottleneck.

The real pain is not the delays. It is the waste of talent. Every person on that team has skills, experience, and ideas that could improve the project. But the hierarchical system tells them to shut up and do what they are told. So they stop thinking. They stop caring. They show up, do the minimum, and go home. And the project never reaches its potential because the leader never unlocked the genius of the team. This is happening on jobsites every single day. And it is destroying projects, burning out workers, and driving good people out of the industry.

The failure pattern is predictable. Leaders default to hierarchy because it feels safe. If I control everything, nothing can go wrong without my knowledge. But hierarchy does not create safety. It creates dependency. The team becomes dependent on the boss to make every decision. And when the boss is unavailable, work stops. Hierarchy also kills accountability. When there is a power imbalance in the room, people stop holding each other accountable. They defer to the boss. They stay quiet even when they see problems. Because challenging the boss feels risky. And if the boss is also the person who determines their paycheck, the risk is real. So people protect themselves by shutting down. The system failed them by creating a structure where honesty and accountability are punished instead of rewarded.

There is a story from World War II that illustrates the cost of hierarchy. During the Normandy invasion, the Germans had panzer units that could have been dispatched to push back the Allied forces. But Hitler was asleep. And his commanders needed his approval to move the tanks. So they waited. And while they waited, the Allies gained ground. The Germans lost valuable territory because their system required everything to flow through one person. And that person was unavailable. The same thing happens on construction projects every day. The boss is in a meeting. The boss is traveling. The boss is overwhelmed. And the team sits idle waiting for approval that should never have been required in the first place.

I worked on a project years ago where the project manager controlled everything. He reviewed every submittal. He approved every purchase. He made every decision about sequencing and coordination. And the team hated it. The superintendent could not move without approval. The foreman could not solve problems in real time. And the trades stopped offering suggestions because they knew the answer would be no unless it came from the PM. The project finished late and over budget. And when the post-mortem happened, the client said the biggest issue was the lack of responsiveness. Problems sat for weeks because everything had to go through one person. The PM thought he was protecting quality. But he was destroying velocity. And the team paid the price.

This matters because distributed leadership outperforms hierarchical leadership every single time. Companies that operate with horizontal structures where leadership is shared across the team move faster, innovate better, and produce higher quality results. DPR Construction is a perfect example. They went from zero to over six billion dollars in annual revenue in 30 years by building a culture of distributed leadership. Everyone has a voice. Everyone can challenge the plan. And decisions are made by the people closest to the work. That model scales. That model wins. And that model creates loyalty because people feel valued instead of controlled.

Why Hierarchy Kills Accountability

Hierarchy reduces conflict and accountability. This is not obvious. Most people assume that hierarchy creates accountability because the boss holds people responsible. But the opposite is true. When there is a power imbalance in the room, people stop holding each other accountable. They defer to the boss. They stay quiet. They protect themselves. Because challenging someone who controls your paycheck feels dangerous. And even if the boss says they want feedback, the team does not fully believe it until they see it rewarded. Until someone speaks up, gets thanked, and sees it reflected in their paycheck, the risk feels real.

This is why high-functioning teams need trust first. Trust is the foundation of the five dysfunctions model. When people trust each other, they can have conflict. When they have conflict, they can commit to decisions together. When they commit, they can hold each other accountable. And when they hold each other accountable, they produce results. But hierarchy short-circuits this process. It skips trust and conflict and goes straight to compliance. The boss decides. The team executes. And nobody holds anyone accountable because accountability requires safety. And hierarchy does not create safety. It creates fear. If your project needs superintendent coaching, project support, or leadership development, Elevate Construction can help your field teams stabilize, schedule, and flow.

What Distributed Leadership Looks Like

Distributed leadership means power is shared across the team. The leader sets the vision, sets the parameters, and provides autonomy. They do not make every decision. They create the conditions where the team can make decisions together. And they trust the team to execute within agreed boundaries. This requires specific skills. Leaders need to facilitate group discussions instead of dominating them. They need to delegate authority instead of hoarding it. They need to give people the resources, tools, time, and training they need to succeed. They need to allow roles and responsibilities to shift as the project evolves. And they need to give ongoing feedback and coaching instead of disappearing and hoping people figure it out.

The mindset shift is critical. Leaders have to believe that power is greatest in the collective team, not in themselves. They have to openly share information instead of keeping it locked in their head. They have to encourage suggestions and ideas from everyone. They have to facilitate brainstorming instead of dictating solutions. And they have to allow problems to surface without punishing people for raising them. This is the opposite of how most construction leaders were trained. Most leaders were taught to control. To have all the answers. To never show weakness. But that model does not scale. And it does not create high-performing teams.

One simple way to signal distributed leadership is to change your org chart. Stop using the pyramid with the boss at the top and everyone below. Create a horizontal structure that shows functional areas on equal footing. Put the office and the field side by side. Show that leadership is shared. And communicate that structure to the team. Language matters too. Stop saying I and start saying we. Stop saying I am going to have you do this and start saying we need to figure this out together. Stop playing boss even if you are the boss. Create an environment where people do not feel your thumb on their forehead all the time.

Signs You Are Operating in Hierarchy Instead of Distributed Leadership

Watch for these patterns that signal you are stuck in hierarchical thinking:

• You control all the information and keep the plan in your head instead of sharing it visually
• You require approval for every decision instead of giving people autonomy within clear boundaries
• Team members say they do not want to bother you even when you tell them you are available
• People hide problems instead of surfacing them because they are afraid of your reaction
• You make decisions alone and then tell the team instead of facilitating decisions together
• You hoard signatures and approvals instead of delegating authority to people who are capable
• The team shuts down when you are in the room instead of speaking up freely
• You spend more time controlling than coaching and developing your people

These are not leadership. These are control mechanisms. And control mechanisms destroy velocity, innovation, and trust.

Building a Horizontal Team

Start by creating psychological safety. Tell the team you want their input. Tell them you want to be challenged. Tell them you want problems surfaced early. And then prove it. When someone speaks up, thank them. When someone challenges your plan, engage with it. When someone makes a mistake, coach them instead of punishing them. And when performance reviews come, reward the people who contributed to the team, not just the people who made you feel comfortable. Actions prove culture. Words just announce it.

Next, share information transparently. Put the schedule on the wall. Make the plan visible. Use visual management so everyone can see what is happening today, this week, and this phase. Stop hiding information in the trailer. Bring it to the field where it matters. Leaders who refuse to make information visible are the ones who want control. Leaders who make everything transparent are the ones who want collaboration. The choice signals your values.

Finally, let people fail forward. Give them autonomy. Let them make decisions. And when they make mistakes, coach them. A leader once said why I would fire someone who just cost me a million dollars in training. That is the mindset of distributed leadership. You invest in people. You develop them. You give them room to grow. And you trust that the collective genius of the team will outperform your individual genius every single time.

So here is the challenge. Evaluate your leadership style. Are you hoarding control or distributing it? Are you bottlenecking the team or unleashing them? Are you creating dependency or building capability? And if you see yourself in the hierarchical patterns, make the shift. Set the vision. Set the parameters. Give autonomy. Share information. Facilitate decisions. Coach relentlessly. And watch what happens when you stop playing boss and start building a team. As Brené Brown said, “Clear is kind and unclear is unkind.” Distributed leadership requires clarity about where you are going and trust that the team can get there together. Give them both. And get out of their way. On we go.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is distributed leadership and how is it different from hierarchy?

Distributed leadership shares power across the team with the leader setting vision and parameters while giving autonomy. Hierarchy concentrates decision-making in one person who becomes a bottleneck.

Why does hierarchy reduce accountability on teams?

Power imbalances make people afraid to challenge authority or hold each other accountable because the boss controls their paycheck, so they stay quiet to protect themselves.

What skills do leaders need to practice distributed leadership?

Group facilitation, delegation, management and coaching skills, organizational systems, ability to let people fail forward, and willingness to share information transparently.

How do you create psychological safety in a hierarchical organization?

Tell the team you want input and prove it by thanking people who speak up, engaging with challenges, coaching mistakes instead of punishing, and rewarding collaboration.

What is an example of a company that uses distributed leadership successfully?

DPR Construction grew from zero to over six billion in revenue in 30 years by building a culture where everyone has a voice and decisions are made closest to the work.