Hands-on leadership: How to lead without being a corporate robot

By Rob Dowling

Corporate culture often glorifies leaders who delegate relentlessly and operate from ivory towers. But data tells a different story:

• A 2023 Gallup study found teams with “hands-on” managers show 23% higher retention and 18% increased productivity.
• Microsoft’s Work Trend Index revealed 89% of employees trust leaders more when they “regularly engage in frontline work.”

Yet many leaders still confuse delegating with disconnecting.

Leadership is About Getting Your Hands Dirty

Let’s get something straight: leadership isn’t about sitting in a boardroom, throwing around buzzwords like "synergy" and "disruption." Leadership is about getting your hands dirty. It’s about showing up when things get messy, making the tough calls, and being the first one to take the heat when something goes wrong.

I got a reminder of this the other day at my son’s Kavallieri Rugby training camp. The team was running laps, but they weren’t competing against each other. They were moving as one. My son, nursing an injury, started to fall behind. And what did his teammates do? They didn’t keep running like he was yesterday’s news. They slowed down, put him at the front, and ran together. Step by step. No one left behind.

By the end, my son, who could’ve easily felt weak and left out, was instead lifted by his team. He wasn’t dragging them down; they made sure he was a part of the collective effort. That’s leadership. Not barking orders from the front, not leaving people behind because they can’t keep up. It’s knowing when to step back, support others, and create something bigger than yourself.

Leadership is a Contact Sport

This is the exact mindset I’ve carried through my career, especially in this industry. There’s a massive difference between "managing" and actually leading. A hands-on leader isn’t just a figurehead; they’re in the trenches, dealing with the same chaos as their team.

This means you don’t just tell developers to "fix the platform migration." You stay up with them until 3 AM, problem-solving side by side, sweating through every error message and unexpected glitch. It means you don’t just let compliance figure out new regulations on their own; you sit in those meetings, understand the implications, and help carve out solutions. It means analyzing player data not just from a report handed to you, but by working with the analysts and marketers to dig into what actually drives user engagement.

I had this experience firsthand when I worked closely with a development team to deliver and migrate four brands in two jurisdictions, UKGC and MGA, in record time. We did this in under six months, an unheard-of timeframe in our space. I was in the trenches with my team every single day, navigating obstacles, making decisions, and feeling every bit of the pain they felt. That kind of hands-on leadership builds respect, trust, and a team that will go the extra mile.

Napoleon once said, “A leader is a dealer in hope.” But hope isn’t handed out in motivational emails. It’s built through action, presence, and real involvement.

Rob Dowling

The Three Traits of Leaders Who Actually Get It

Hands-on leaders all share a few key traits:

• They show up. You don’t just swoop in when there’s a crisis; you’re always there. When things are good, when things are bad, and when things are "we’re about to lose half our user base" bad.
• They listen. A developer might know more about UX than your marketing lead. A customer support rep might understand your player base better than anyone else. Leaders recognize this, ask the right questions, and absorb information like a sponge.
• They adapt. Our industry moves at breakneck speed. If you’re still thinking like it’s five years ago, you’ve already lost. Blockchain, AI, personalized gaming experiences—either you get ahead of these trends, or you become irrelevant.

Why Startups and Transforming Businesses Demand More from Leaders

Startups are war zones. Restructuring businesses? Even worse. When companies go through massive shifts, leadership isn’t just "important", it’s the difference between survival and failure.

The biggest challenge isn’t the technology or the market, it’s the mindset of the people inside. People get stuck in old ways of thinking, and if you’re not the one actively guiding them into the future, they’ll stay behind. Change isn’t comfortable. It’s messy, it’s emotional, and it requires leaders who don’t just dictate the new vision but help their teams adjust to it.

Margaret Thatcher once said, “Watch your actions, for they will make your destiny.” In a startup or a transforming business, every action you take shapes the company’s future.

Collaboration is Not Optional

The industry is a constant juggling act, regulatory shifts, user retention, tech innovation. The only way to navigate this? Cross-team collaboration that actually works.

• Compliance officers and developers working together to ensure self-exclusion tools meet legal standards.
• Data analysts feeding real insights to marketing teams so campaigns aren’t just flashy, but actually effective.
• Product teams understanding the psychology behind player behavior instead of just throwing out new features and hoping they stick.

At Singular, I worked directly with the sales team, reviewing every post-meeting report, breaking down why I asked certain questions, and helping them refine their approach. This kind of direct mentorship is what turns "okay" teams into absolute powerhouses that deliver tier-one clients.

I was lucky enough to learn a lot from Ebbe Groes at EveryMatrix, where we engineered a goddamn alliance between project managers and product owners. No fluffy corporate playbooks. Just a raw, custom-built machine, tech that worked and commercial strategy that actually made money. How’d that pan out? A collaboration that led to securing a massive tier-one operator, signing a game-changing contract that reshaped the company’s trajectory. The secret sauce? We listened to each other, adapted quickly, and stayed relentlessly focused on delivering innovation and value.

Leadership Demands Fluidity

Generational shifts are redefining expectations:

• Gen Z workers are 2.3x more likely to stay with leaders who “regularly collaborate on tasks” (LinkedIn 2024).
• AI tools like ChatGPT mean leaders must now model critical thinking, not just issue directives.
• As Satya Nadella told Harvard Business Review: “The C-Suite’s new role is to be the organization’s chief learner, not just its chief decider.”

The Future of Leadership

Leadership isn’t about having all the answer, it’s about being present, taking action, and building an environment where others are able to thrive.

My own journey, whether mentoring a sales team or problem-solving side by side with developers, has reinforced one thing: the best leaders don’t just lead from the front, they lead with their teams. Because just like in rugby or any team sport for that matter, the strongest teams move forward together.

So, if you want to be a real leader? Stop delegating everything. Stop hiding behind your title. Step in, get involved, and prove you’re worth following.