What is a “Command & Control” leader?
Mr. Stephen M.R. Covey said, he “went on a sales call to a small, family owned manufacturing company where he met with most of the company’s executive team.” The executives explained to him “the positives and negatives that existed in the company culture.” One of the executives finally said with “exasperation clear in his voice.”
“Can we get real here? Our biggest problem is that we’re managed by a control freak!”
(The head of the company, CEO and founder called “Senior” was not in the room, but his presence was.”)
Hesitantly other executives agreed and said.
“It’s true, he can’t let go of anything.”
“He’s constantly looking over our shoulder.”
“He can’t pass anything on. And it’s time for him to pass it all on. “Junior” is ready.”
Junior, the founder’s son and heir, “had been working with the company since graduating college. He was well respected, and everyone felt it was time for him to take over. They all believed that his leadership would make the company more relevant and successful. Junior himself believed it, too- he’d told his father multiple times, “I’m ready, Dad. I can do it.”
“Despite Junior’s confidence and the team’s urging, Senior refused to let go.”
“Suddenly the man who had originally broached the subject of their controlling boss smacked his hands down on the table in frustration and explained, “For crying out loud, Junior is sixty-seven years old!”
Covey was “shocked”! “Senior was in his eighties or nineties and could not bring himself to cede control to his qualified and competent son, who had been working in the company for many decades. Senior’s leadership style was holding the company’s growth and progress back. He was hindering his employees and his son’s growth.
Covey continues, “Like Senior, most Command & Control people aren’t bad people. Most are decent people with fine character and good intent. But far too often their style gets in the way of their intent. Even when a leader is working toward a positive, beneficial outcome, a Command & Control approach leads to coercion, compliance, containment, and ultimately to stagnation. A Trust & Inspire leader, on the other hand, works toward that same beneficial outcome but does it through commitment, creativity, and the unleashing of talent and potential.” (Stephen M.R. Covey, “Trust & Inspire”, 2022, pp.4-5)
Command & Control:(Micro- management. Leadership is a position.)
Trust & Inspire leader
Stephen M.R. Covey says, “The beliefs of a Trust & Inspire leader are.. like a lens; they enhance our vision. They bring people and things into focus. They help us see the world in a new way. And with that clear vision, we are better able to perform, serve, contribute, and learn. We see people not only as they truly are, but as what they could be.”
Mr. Covey says, “Each of us can become a Trust & Inspire leader through understanding and acting on the following 5 Fundamental Beliefs:"
1) “People have greatness inside them…so my job as a leader is to unleash their potential, not control them.”
2) “People are whole people…so my job as a teacher is to inspire, not merely motivate”
3) “There is enough for everyone…so my job as a leader is to elevate caring above competing.”
4) “Leadership is stewardship…so my job as a leader is to put service above self-interest.”
5) “Enduring influence is creating from the inside out…so my job as a leader is to go first.” (Stephen M.R. Covey, “Trust & Inspire”, 2022, p. 81)
PepsiCo:
Mr. Covey says, Indra Nooyi, chair and CEO of PepsiCo called her leadership approach “Performance with Purpose”. He said, “she had already inspired her people by connecting them to purpose, meaning, and contribution in their work. But what really struck me was how she inspired others by personally connecting with them by genuinely caring about them.”
“She shared with me that during a visit to her family in India, she noticed the pride her mother felt when others praised her for raising Indra to be such a successful leader. She particularly noticed how others’ praise was not to Indra for being a CEO but rather for her mother (and late father) who had raised her.”
Indra said, “They told my mom, “You did such a good job with your daughter. Compliments to you. She’s CEO.’ No one said a word to me.” (p.37)
Mr. Covey, “Indra realized that the leaders of her own company had parents who deserved to hear the same thing about their children. The experience with her mother inspired Indra to write as many as four hundred personal letters annually to parents of her senior executives. In the letters, she thanked the parents for their magnificent work in raising such good and capable sons and daughters.”
“Both the parents and the senior executives were sincerely touched by Indra’s heartfelt letters. They were also inspired.”
Mr. Covey continued, “People felt valued and seen as whole people, not just people who were compartmentalized for their work.”
“One of her executives exclaimed, “My God, this is the best thing that’s happened to my parents. And it’s the best thing that’s happened to me.”
Mr. Covey, “How would you feel if your boss sent a similar letter to your parents or spouse? Or even your children? Knowing that someone cares about us and recognizes the work we do is crucial to a fulfilled life, because it honors the whole person. Not only that, it inspires us.”
Microsoft:
Bethany McLean author and reporter wrote at Vanity Fair, Microsoft’s situation 12 years ago. “There’s a sense in the world outside Redmond, Washington, that Microsoft’s best days are behind it, that the sprawling colossus, which employs more than 100,000 people, doesn’t know what it is, or even what it wants to be.”
Microsoft had lost its relevance in the market place and in the workplace. Innovation had ceased! (Trust & Inspire, Stephen M.R. Covey. PP. 24-25)
In 2014, Satya Nadella, Indian born, succeeded Steve Ballmer as Microsoft’s CEO. Harry McCracken in his article for Fast Company wrote: “The Microsoft that Nadella inherited was regarded by both Wall Street and Silicon Valley as fading toward irrelevance”. Microsoft’s “stock prices had plummeted while Apple and Google were flourishing to record valuations.”
The situation was bleak at Microsoft. “Microsoft’s forte of desktop computers to smartphones, quickly leaving Microsoft behind as the market share of Windows on smartphones fell to less than 4 percent. Moreover, top talent was leaving. It was no longer perceived as a cool place to work.”
Microsoft’s culture was “a foundational problem.”
“Nadella immediately assessed what was going on and how it was affecting Microsoft’s sustainability. In his memoir, Hit Refresh, Nadella described the era of warring gangs by saying, “Innovation was being replaced by bureaucracy. Teamwork was being replaced by internal politics. We were falling behind.” (p.25)
Nadella’s number one goal as CEO was changing Microsoft’s culture.
Mr. Covey said, “As a Trust & Inspire leader, Nadella understood the first epic imperative of our time: to succeed, you must win in the workplace by attracting, retaining, engaging, and inspiring the best people.” (p.25)
How did Nadella change the culture?
Mr. Covey, “Nadella came in quietly and thoughtfully .. right away modeling a Trust & Inspire leadership style that ultimately transformed the company culture. He began by modeling the behavior he was seeking- humility, empathy, authenticity, personal growth, creativity, collaboration. His leadership paradigm was one of trusting and inspiring others-manifest by adapting a “growth mindset,” not only for himself but also for others, unleashing them to become the driving force of Microsoft’s success. He successfully revitalized the company’s cutthroat culture, completely changing the trajectory of Microsoft.”
Nadella revamped Microsoft’s mission and strategy enabling “greater teaming and collaboration” enriching the organization. New technologies were developed. “Deploying Microsoft 365 Copilot Engage and becoming and Microsoft “Frontier IT firm.”
“Working efficiently and consistently with Copilot and AI requires ongoing learning, especially as capabilities are continuously evolving. Gamification offers an excellent way to keep colleagues engaged—helping them learn effortlessly while having fun.”
Kirsten Bliefernicht, senior business program manager, Microsoft Digital
“The result is interactive—you see visuals, you hear music, and the creativity surprises you.” Ju Bu, business program manager, Microsoft Digital
Results: Covey, “When Nadella became CEO, Microsoft was valued around $300 billion.” Today, January 8, 2026, Microsoft is valued at $3.59 trillion. Nadella’s inspiring leadership “unleashed people’s potential and enabled everything else.” (Covey,p.26)
Satya Nadella, CEO of Microsoft, “Being a leader is a privilege you have. Your job is about being able to help people realize their potential. That’s what in fact, is expected of you.”
A tale of two principals:
Mr. Stephen M.R. Covey, shared the following story of a teacher who worked for two different principals. The first principal’s style was “benevolent Command & Control. He was competent, nice, and respectful-but didn’t trust his teachers. He often threw them under the bus when it came to situations with parents. He told them one thing to their face and did the opposite once they were gone.”
The culture:
The atmosphere was “draining and joyless” among the teachers and staff and “the turnover rate at the school soared. Many teachers even left during the middle of the school year despite not having a new job to go to.” (p27)
The following year a new principal, a Trust & Inspire leader, came to the school. She believed in trusting her teachers, recognized their hard work, and “connected with teachers, staff, and students and cared about the work and them. She was open and transparent, and connected them all to the larger purpose of the power of education.” At the school, the teachers, staff, students, and the parents “felt energized and excited.” She modeled and built relationships of trust throughout the school. Teachers and staff enjoyed working at the school and inspired their students to learn and grow. (p.27)
Here are three thought-provoking questions that invite reflection across all of the stories—from Senior & Junior, to PepsiCo, Microsoft, and the two principals:
1. When does a leader’s desire to “protect what they built” quietly turn into a barrier that prevents others—and the organization itself—from growing?
(What warning signs suggest it’s time to let go, even when intentions are good?)
2. How does seeing people as “whole human beings” rather than roles or titles fundamentally change motivation, loyalty, and long-term performance?
(What happens to culture when leaders lead with empathy instead of authority?)
3. If trust and inspiration can transform a failing company, a struggling school, and individual lives, what fears or beliefs most often stop leaders from choosing this approach—and what does it cost them when they don’t?
Madeline Frank, Ph.D. is an Amazon.com Best Selling Author, speaker, business owner, teacher, conductor, and concert artist. She helps businesses and organizations “Tune Up their Business”. Her observations show you the blue prints necessary to improve and keep your business successful. Her latest book “Leadership On A Shoestring Budget” is available everywhere books are sold. If you need a speaker or video speaker contact Madeline at:
mfrankviola@gmail.com
