What can a pair of pants tell you about leadership? Much more than you think.

How do you feel when you pull a pair of non-stretch jeans straight from the dryer? They’re stiff. Way too tight. The waistband digs into your belly. Now picture trying to work an eight-hour day in them. That discomfort—and sense of restriction—is exactly what it feels like to work for a micromanager.

On the other end of your closet are those oversized sweatpants—they’re comfy, but there’s no shape (or direction) to them at all . . . kind of like a workplace where everyone might like the manager, but no one has any idea what’s actually expected or where they’re headed.

Between those two extremes sits the gold standard of workplace comfort: cozy joggers. Stretchy. Supportive. They move with you, not against you. If you’ve ever worked for a leader who gives you the right balance of support and freedom, you know exactly how good that kind of fit feels.

Because managers not only usually fall into one of these categories—tight jeans, oversized sweatpants or cozy joggers—but their teams respond accordingly. Here’s what those leadership styles look like, why they matter and how to move toward the “cozy joggers” approach that gets the results that every style of leader is looking for.

We all know that manager—the one who wants to sign off on every........

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