The Effectiveness Paradox

5 Leadership Tensions We Learned While Building a Podcast

Some of the biggest lessons from making our podcast didn’t come just from the conversations. They came from everything around them. The uncertainty of starting something new. The friction of figuring it out in real time. The quiet moments where we questioned if it was working.  

In many ways, making Momentum mirrored the very themes we were exploring. It asked us to lead through ambiguity, collaborate through tension, and keep going without clear proof of progress. What we thought would be a podcast became something more: a lived experience in what we often call the messy middle.  

These five insights from our co-hosts, Bonny and Nora, shaped not just by the conversations they had, but from the full journey of recording, publishing, and building the podcast from the ground up. What surfaced again and again was this: real effectiveness lives in the tension between opposites. 

1. Vision vs. Adaptability:  

Vision brings clarity. It gives people direction and purpose. But it can also lock you into rigid execution. 

Adaptability, on the other hand, helps you respond to change and stay open to what’s emerging. Especially in times of disruption, like AI, fast-moving markets or uncertain moments, adaptability often wins over control. 

The tension is this: Too much vision and you lose flexibility. Too much adaptability and you lose your way. Real effectiveness means knowing where you’re going and staying open to adjusting when the path shifts. 

How we hold both: 

• Don’t wait for perfect conditions. Start with small moves anchored in vision. (Remember our 70% rule?) 

• Treat risk as something to manage, not eliminate. 

• Use mindset as a lever to pause, pivot, and respond. 

2. Empathy vs. Accountability:  

In our episode on human-centric leadership, a clear theme came up: empathy alone isn’t enough.  

Empathy creates trust. It makes people feel seen, heard, and valued. But when it stands alone, performance can suffer. 

Accountability drives outcomes. It sets standards, ensures follow-through, and gets results. But too much of it can turn people into tasks. 

The tension is this: Too much empathy and expectations soften. Too much accountability and trust erode. Effectiveness comes from caring deeply while still calling people to act. 

How we hold both: 

• Match your leadership style to the moment. 

• Practice: Care for the person. Call for action. 

3. Reflection vs. Action 

Reflection brings clarity. It helps you step back, see patterns, and make smarter moves. In our recovery episode, our guests Micaella and Hugh helped us see recovery as not the absence of work, but the presence of readiness, reflection, and energy. They showed us that recovery is a strategic advantage. 

Action, on the other hand, is what moves things forward. It builds energy, creates impact, and turns intention into reality. Without it, ideas just sit there. 

The tension is this: Too much reflection, and you stall. Too much action, and you risk burnout or move blindly through the noise. The most effective leaders make space to pause and see clearly, then take decisive steps forward. Reflection gives your leadership depth. Action gives it traction. 

How we hold both: 

• Build micro-pauses into busy weeks, even a short walk or journaling. 

• Pair every reflection with a clear next action, and every action with a quick debrief. 

• Use feedback loops to turn reflection into iteration. 

4. Confidence vs. Vulnerability 

Confidence helped us hit record. It gave us presence, energy, and a voice. We had something to say and believed it mattered.  

Vulnerability made it real. In our earliest episodes, we kept asking, “Is this landing?” That discomfort shaped our tone, improved the content, and helped us grow as leaders. 

The tension is this: Confidence without vulnerability can come off as rigid. Vulnerability without confidence feels unsteady. Leadership lives in the space between where you can speak with clarity, and stay open enough to evolve.  

How we hold both: 

• Start before you feel ready. 

• Treat projects like experiments, refine with feedback. 

• Choose progress over perfection. Always. 

5. Consistency vs. Creativity 

In our innovation episode, we landed on a simple formula:

Innovation = idea + action + impact.  

Creativity sparks ideas. It shows up in conversations, in brainstorms, in bold thinking. But ideas alone don’t build anything. 

Consistency turns ideas into something useful. It’s what helped us show up, publish on time, refine the flow, stick to the structure.  

That’s where the Human-in-the-Loop concept came in too. AI can boost creativity at scale, generate options, do research, speed up execution. But without human intention and follow-through, it’s just noise. It’s the human judgment that transforms creativity into impact. 

The tension is this: lean too hard into creativity and you stay in potential. Lean too hard into consistency and you get stuck in routine. Real effectiveness lives in designing systems where both can thrive. 

How we hold both: 

• Anchor creativity in repeatable rhythms. 

• Use AI to expand options but apply human judgment to shape and act. 

  
  

Effectiveness is a Tension to Hold, Not a Problem to Solve 

These five paradoxes reminded us that effectiveness is about navigating the messy middle, finding rhythm in the tension, and holding space for two truths at once. 

Momentum became a mirror for how we lead, collaborate, and grow. It challenged us to stay in the tension, get comfortable in the messy middle, and keep showing up anyway. 

If you're navigating tension in your own work, you're not alone. That’s exactly what we explore in every episode. 

Listen to Momentum on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or YouTube.