Message From Julie: Lessons from My Yoga Mat: Strength and Flexibility in Leadership
Author: Julie Chance, Founder of Action-Strategies-By-Design
When I think about exceptional leaders I’ve had the opportunity to work with, the image that often comes to mind is the yin and yang symbol. Two opposing yet complementary forces. Strength and flexibility are like that in leadership—seemingly opposite qualities, but together they form the balance that makes a leader truly effective.
Strength shows up as clarity, conviction, and the courage to make tough calls. Flexibility shows up as adaptability, openness, and the willingness to shift when circumstances demand it. Both are necessary but leaning too far in either direction can throw us—and our teams—off balance.
When leaders overplay strength, it turns into rigidity. I’ve seen leaders cling so tightly to a strategy or belief that they develop tunnel vision and ignore clear signs it’s not working. This kind of unyielding strength stifles innovation and erodes trust.
On the other hand, when flexibility is overused, it creates chaos. Leaders who chase every new idea or trend, or who change direction to try and keep everyone happy, leave their teams confused and exhausted. At first, a flexible leader can seem approachable and collaborative. But over time, people stop trusting their direction because they know it will change direction with the next bright shiny idea. The magic happens when we learn to balance strength and flexibility, shifting between them depending on the needs of the situation.
Here’s a question you can ask yourself when deciding whether to move towards strength or flexibility: Is this a moment to anchor, or a moment to bend? If the decision involves core values or a clear organizational priority, that is probably an “anchor” moment. But if it involves how to get the outcome, or how we respond to a team member who is experiencing a crisis in their life, that may be a “bend” moment. This simple question can help you be more intentional and help prevent you from defaulting to either rigidity or chaos.
What makes this balancing act even more challenging is how culture shapes it. In Western business culture, strength is often glorified. In contrast, many Eastern cultures value flexibility. The best leaders, I believe, integrate both perspectives and neuroscience supports this. Too much rigidity leads to undue stress, while too much flexibility causes decision fatigue.
And an organization’s culture takes on the personality of the leader. If a leader leans heavily into rigidity, the culture tends to be resistant to change. If the leader leans too far into flexibility, the culture is one where there is a lot of activity without much direction. When leaders practice balance, they create cultures that are both strong and adaptable.
At the end of the day, leadership isn’t about choosing strength over flexibility or vice versa. It’s about recognizing when to flex between the two. The yin and yang remind us that opposites don’t just coexist—they need each other to form a whole. When we find that balance in our leadership approach, we create teams and organizations that can withstand storms while achieving great success.
