Leadership Happens on More Than One Front

A manager looks at the week ahead.

There is a team issue that needs attention. One person is unclear about priorities. Another is frustrated by a decision made elsewhere. A senior stakeholder wants reassurance that progress is on track. A peer team needs alignment before work can move forward. A customer issue is starting to create pressure.

None of these issues sits neatly in one place.

Some of the work is downward, helping the team understand what matters and what to do next. Some of it is upward, keeping senior leaders informed and engaged. Some of it is sideways, influencing peers, partners and stakeholders who do not report to the manager. Some of it is inward, requiring the manager to notice their own reactions, assumptions and energy.

This is one of the realities of management.

Leadership does not happen on only one front.

It happens in several directions at once.

A manager who only leads downward may support the team but fail to influence the environment around them. A manager who only manages upward may protect visibility but lose connection with the team. A manager who only works sideways may build relationships but avoid the harder accountability needed inside the team.

Leadership is not only managing direct reports

Many new managers think of leadership mainly as managing people who report to them.

That is understandable. Direct reports are the most visible part of the role. The manager needs to clarify priorities, set expectations, coach, give feedback, remove obstacles, build trust and support performance.

This work matters deeply.

But if a manager sees leadership only through the team below them, they may miss the wider system that shapes the team’s ability to perform.

A team may be motivated but still blocked by unclear stakeholder expectations. A person may be capable but confused because priorities from different leaders conflict. A project may be well run internally but stuck because a peer team has not agreed to the decision. A team may be working hard, while senior leaders are unaware of an emerging risk that needs attention.

In those moments, the manager cannot solve the issue only by working harder with their direct reports.

They need to lead across the system.

Upward, sideways and inward leadership

Upward leadership is about helping senior leaders understand what matters.

It means giving clear updates, surfacing risks early, explaining trade-offs, asking for decisions when needed and helping leaders see the reality of the work before problems become crises.

Sideways leadership is about influencing without authority.

Much of execution depends on people who do not report to the manager. Peer teams, functional partners, project contributors, customer-facing colleagues and internal stakeholders all shape whether work moves. The manager needs to build trust, understand different perspectives, negotiate priorities and create enough alignment for shared work to progress.

Inward leadership is about managing the self.

Managers need to notice how they show up under pressure, what triggers them, where they become defensive, what assumptions they are making, and where their own habits may be shaping the system.

A manager who does not lead inward may unintentionally create the very problems they are trying to solve.

The four fronts are connected: downward, upward, sideways and inward.

Neglect one, and the others become harder.

The practical lesson

The practical lesson is this: managers should ask which leadership front the situation requires, rather than assuming every issue can be solved from one direction.

A manager can use a few practical questions:

• What does my team need from me right now?

• What do senior leaders need to understand?

• Which peer or stakeholder needs to be involved, informed or influenced?

• What conversation is needed across the system?

• What am I feeling or assuming that might shape how I respond?

• Where am I overusing one leadership front and neglecting another?

• What would change if I led the situation from more than one direction?

These questions help managers diagnose the leadership work more clearly. Sometimes the team needs coaching. Sometimes senior leaders need a clearer escalation. Sometimes peers need earlier involvement. Sometimes the manager needs to pause, regulate their own reaction and choose a better response.

The risk of imbalance

Every manager has a preferred leadership front.

Some managers naturally focus downward. They are close to the team, supportive and available. But they may avoid senior stakeholder conversations or fail to influence across boundaries.

Some managers naturally focus upward. They are good at executive communication and visibility. But the team may experience them as distant or overly focused on what senior leaders think.

Some managers naturally focus sideways. They are strong relationship builders and collaborators. But they may hesitate to set clearer standards within their own team.

Some managers naturally focus inward. They are reflective and self-aware.

The problem is not having a preference.

The problem is letting the preference define the whole leadership approach.

Managers need range. They need the ability to move between fronts depending on what the situation requires.

The real work

The real work is not only leading the people who report to you. It is leading across the full system of relationships, expectations, decisions and behaviours that shape the work.

This is also one of the core reflection questions behind 100 Questions Every Manager Should Ask: How do I influence when I do not have authority?

It is a useful question because many important management outcomes depend on people the manager cannot command. Influence, trust, clarity and relationship become part of the work.

At the same time, the manager cannot influence others well if they are not also managing themselves. Leadership across the system begins with awareness of how one is showing up inside it.

Leadership happens downward, upward, sideways and inward.

A manager does not need to be perfect on every front. But they do need to know which front needs attention.

One question for reflection:

Where does your leadership need to operate more deliberately right now: downward, upward, sideways or inward?

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