Let me share a secret: some of the most visionary leaders I’ve met, brilliant as they are, have a surprisingly destructive habit — they use divide and rule to control their teams.
These are smart people, but delegation and trust? Not their strong suit. Instead, they create a culture where team members are pitted against each other — where everyone’s watching their back. The result? An organization focused more on survival than success.
Why do they do this? Simple. It feeds their ego. Being the referee between warring factions makes them feel indispensable. But here’s the truth: It’s a trap.
One CEO told me, “I need to keep my team on their toes — if they get comfortable, I lose control.” I replied, “Control isn’t power. Influence is. And you lose influence every time you play people against each other.”
Research backs this up. Google’s Project Aristotle found that psychological safety — the ability to take risks without fear — is the #1 predictor of team success. Leaders who divide their teams breed fear and competition, not safety.
Look at Steve Jobs. A genius, but his early divide-and-rule style almost destroyed Apple. Apple soared after Jobs learned to build trust and collaboration.
I’ve seen it again and again: brilliant leaders too insecure to share power fall into this divide-and-rule trap. They miss three truths:
1. You can’t execute alone. Even the best vision needs team conviction.
2. Execution without buy-in is failure. A divided team is focused on survival, not success.
3. Teams that don’t trust, don’t win. People too busy sucking up to you aren’t focused on goals.
Another CEO asked me, “Why don’t my people respect me, despite my breakthrough ideas?” I said, “Because you don’t respect them. You’ve built a team that fears you, not one that trusts you.”
Divide and rule is the graveyard for insecure leaders. By the time they realize it, they’ve alienated their best people. Don’t fall into this trap.
Create a culture where people want to succeed together, not against each other. In the end, teams that trust each other — and their leader — are the ones that win.