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OPINION
Cut your leaders some slack
Policy slack combines structure with flexibility, empowering leaders with the room to move, own decisions, and grow.
A few years ago, I watched a team lead wrestle with whether to pull the trigger on a stressful client decision and the potential for being reprimanded. A stringent policy said one thing. The short timeline said another. They didn’t have permission – the leader had judgment. And that individual used it. The result? The client stayed on schedule, the trust deepened, and the leader grew.
Dave Williams
That moment stuck with me. Not because it was perfect, but because it showed what happens when we stop trying to script every move and start trusting the people closest to the work. In times of uncertainty, organizations tend to tighten the reins. We add more structure, more rules, more safeguards, often in an effort to reduce risk. However, ISG, an architecture, engineering, environmental, and planning firm, has found real progress comes not from over-engineering control, but from developing leaders who can think clearly in the chaos. That is where the idea of policy slack comes in. Policy slack refers to the space within a system –
flexibility in expectations, procedures, or roles – that allows people to respond effectively to change. When applied to leadership, it becomes something powerful: room to move, own decisions, and grow. STRUCTURE WITH FLEXIBILITY. The combination of strong systems and thoughtful flexibility has shaped how we grow our teams. We value transparency at every level and create space for individual autonomy. Clear structures, like two team leaders to anchor accountability or holding team meetings that connect people across geographies, help define expectations while leaving room to adapt.
See DAVE WILLIAMS, page 8
THE ZWEIG LETTER JULY 28, 2025, ISSUE 1595
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