CEOs Can't Buy Creativity. They Need to Build It.
Top-down management is having a moment. But leading with an iron fist is a sure way to crush innovation.
“That’s what the money is for.”
Photographer: Frank Ockenfels / AMCFrom return-to-office saber rattling to hectoring memos declaring the end of rewarding employee loyalty, it’s clear that CEOs are feeling their oats. A slowing economy is shifting power back to the corner office after years of tight labor markets gave workers extraordinary pull. And leaders aren’t hesitating to put that juice to use. They’re swearing off warm and fuzzy cultures and instead channeling one of Don Draper’s most memorable Mad Men lines: “That’s what the money is for.”
Wanting to reassert this kind of top-down control over their organizations may be a natural instinct, but it’s also a profoundly counterproductive one. Management that relies primarily on fear as stick — and financial incentives as carrot — stifles creativity and innovation.