Don't Be Sucked In By Player-Coach Leadership!
No Bullsh!t Leadership · 2026-05-19 · 20 min
Episode notes
When CEOs cut management layers, they often kid themselves that they're building leaner, faster companies. But what they're actually doing is destroying accountability and weakening performance. Hiding behind fads like player-coach leadership can’t change that fact. The tech sector loves a management fad and over the years, they’ve tried them all. But the unquestioning adoption (and eventual discarding) of these management trends doesn’t seem to discourage them from trying the next one that comes along. In this episode, I pull this apart from a few different angles. I look at the fundamental misconceptions that drive fads like player-coach leadership ; I bring you a view from an industry insider; and I give you a practical list of the 5 questions you should ask before you get sucked into the next manager-free fad. Source Material: No Bullsh!t Leadership episodes: Ep.396: How Many Direct Reports is Too Many? Business Insider article: The Most Layoff-Prone Jobs Fortune article: Coinbase Replaced Managers With Player-Coaches LinkedIn profile: Alek Lipski LBT link: Leadership Beyond the Theory ———————— Have you taken our free Leadership Blindspot test ?