Leading Down-and-In Versus Up-and-Out
April 17, 2025
“I’m no longer able to do the things I used to love about my career.”
I’ve heard this statement often lately from the leaders I interact with, and this also seems to be a sentiment with many other leaders across a variety of professions. That is, despite the differences in leaders’ daily environments, one thing among them is remarkably the same: change. In some cases, the change borders on revolutionary. But in every case, the change is significant and driven by societal trends, economic factors, governmental evolutions, and lawsuits. The resulting changes have left many leaders lamenting, “I’m no longer able to do the things I used to love about my career.”
The lament of these senior leaders, those in positions with strategic level responsibility, stands out in stark contrast to the junior leaders who seem quite content. They’re on the ground where the rubber meets the road, interacting daily with team members, and seem to approach their work with vigor and enthusiasm. “I love my job,” they say. “I’m having a blast!” Now, what variables explain such disparity in job satisfaction? Well, there are many factors contributing to this disparity, but one that stands out is the difference between leading down-and-in versus leading up-and-out.
Junior leaders most often lead down-and–in, meaning they get to spend their days where the rubber meets the road. They get to interact with team members and get involved in day-to-day activities. Simply put, junior leaders get to do the fun stuff.
The demands of managing change, however, require senior leaders to spend their time up-and- out. In other words, they spend their time away from what they enjoy and have to do the difficult, yet very necessary, strategic work required to keep their organizations afloat.
I experienced both down-and-in and up-and-out leadership during my career in the military. As a junior officer, I spent my day with “the guys,” and I had a blast with this. Whether during early morning physical training or during late evening field training exercises, I was where the action was. I was right where I wanted to be.
But as I progressed in rank and responsibility, I got further away from the activities that motivated me to pursue a military career. And at the time I retired, I had one foot down-and-in and one up-and-out. However, my boss, the brigade commander, was spending nearly all his time up-and-out. I often heard him state that how he’d love to spend more time with the soldiers. Despite this, he gave 110% effort to his work. Why? Passion. His passion for our profession helped him endure the long days and nights away from the fun stuff.
In the same way, your passion for your profession energizes you to continue to put in the effort, even though what you’re doing isn’t necessarily “fun.” You do the hard work of a senior leader because nobody else can. You carry the weight and burden of navigating change and defending your organization so that your junior leaders and team members can keep doing the fun stuff. You fight for resources, solicit support, testify, debate, and battle to keep your organization afloat. Yet, you feel so far removed from what you love. But you’re not. You’re right where your people need you to be.
So keep up the good work. You’re appreciated more than you know. In fact, you’re inspiring your junior leaders to someday do the same as you are doing now.
Leading Down-and-In Versus Up-and-Out was originally published in Horizon Performance on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
