Geared up To Lead Tomorrow

My Development as a Future Leader

Fig. 1 Pictures with Team

In this fast-evolving world, there is an invitation for a new breed of leadership: Leadership that is innovative, diverse and inclusive. To lead in the 21st century it is essential for #GirlOnTheMove like myself, to seek knowledge and constantly develop herself. This blog reflects on how I have developed as a Future Leader throughout this term while pursuing my MBA in Global business.

“Leadership is hard to define and good leadership even harder. But if you can get people to follow you to the ends of the earth, you are a great leader”

– Indra Nooyi

Basically, Leadership is the process of influencing others to understand and agree about what needs to be done and how to do it (Yukl, 2010:26)

Contrary to some experts, Grandma says I was born a leader, 1^st grandchild and daughter to the family. I wear this badge so proudly, always conscious of who I am and whose I am. I have also realized that, whether by election or appointment, wherever am at, I somehow became a leader – mostly ‘leading from the front’; setting the pace for others to follow(Hill 2019). Paraphrasing, “Serious leaders understand that, both by design and default, they’re always leading by example. Smart leaders want to build their brands and leading by example is integral to their “leadership brand.” (Schrage 2016). I am of the conviction, that everything I do, at its core, goes to serve this brand.

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Fig. 2 Pictures with Class

During a class debate, for which I was against the motion “First, Let’s Fire All The Managers”, without any rehearsal or plan, my brand of leadership, as witnessed by my classmates, soon came on the chopping board. You see, I had the privilege of handpicking and leading 2 different teams for different assignments, and that day, either teams just happened to be on opposite sides. Team A said, “Eugenia is great leader” while Team B argued, “No, Eugenia is Great Manager who Leads”. Dumbfounded, I wondered how could the same person(Me) exhibit 2 different personalities. Applying the Mckinsey 7s framework, I later realized that it wasn’t I that was 2, but the Teams, hence the difference in my style of leadership.

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Fig. 3 Application of Mckinsey 7s

So am I a Manager or a Leader?

I am of the view that a King can never do without His General and neither can a Leader do without a Manager. I am a Leader with Managerial skills, nonetheless, when the situation demands, I am a Manager who Leads. So why choose when I can be both? Either ways, the job gets done.

Every group is not a team – A team is a group of people who do collective work and are mutually committed to a common team purpose and challenging goals related to that purpose (Hill & Lineback 2012).

Trusting your Team to Lead.

I love working in Teams, whether I am leading them or not. It is really important for me to surround myself, with a team whose opinions and work I trust, who are not in any way frightened to disagree with me and who I wouldn’t need to micro-manage.

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The Belbin Team role came in handy, by matching observed team behavior to measured psychological traits, with the aim of building my ideal Teams.

Fig. 4 Belbin Profile

One interesting article, “What Great Managers do?”  taught me that it is essential to know and value the unique abilities and even the eccentricities of each team member, and learn how best to capitalize on them. Average managers play checkers, while great managers play chess(Buckingham 2005). Unlike checkers, each type of piece in chess, moves in a different way. You can’t play if you don’t know how each piece moves and most importantly, you won’t win if you don’t think and plan carefully about how you move the pieces.

There were 3 main areas I sought to develop.

Relationship Development: There is psychological relationship between leaders and followers(Hill & Lineback 2012). To be an effective leader, I needed to adopt a suitable style of leadership which creates an environment of trust and brings meaning and purpose to the relationship. Like a Situational Leader, I tend to adjust my leadership style to the context I face(Johnson et al. 2017, p.471).

Fig. 5 Styles of LEadership

Technical Skill Development: Developing soft skills as a leader is critical to my success. Going through case studies Aetna – Leading the Change, Ricardo Semler, Lehman brothers also challenged my understanding on leadership and appreciate ethical leadership.

Awareness Development: Self-awareness is as important as knowing your team. Johari’s window, was an excellent personality-evaluation tool I used, based on the feedback I received from my teammates.

Open: I agree with my Belbin profile, that I am an Implementer, a Coordinator and a Shaper.

Hidden: My colleagues were shocked to see me being autocratic, because I had always created a liberal and democratic atmosphere in my teams. But whenever I feel the Team is going off-course, I don’t mind being a little strict if it gets the work done. Mum calls it ‘The Headmistress mode’

Blind spot: I am stubborn? Wow, this was new to me.

Unknown: Yes, I thrive under pressure. But my team and I realized, this was becoming a habit. I over work myself, and sometimes, overwork the Team too.

Feedback from Team members…

When the honeymoon is over, how do I get my Team to still perform?

Changes Groups/Teams go through

Generally, it’s great to lead when everyone is committed and doing things right. It’s frustrating when the attention is divided and interest is lost, for example, during weeks where we had assignments to give. Here, it’s easy to assume McGregor’s Theory X that assumes that workers are lazy and need to be coerced, controlled, and threatened with punishments, but I believe with the right set of motivation, people can do better(Mullins 2016).

Fig. Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs

Abraham Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs helped me to understand what motivates people. Everyone is capable and has the desire to move up the hierarchy to attain self-actualization but unfortunately, progress is often disrupted by failure to meet lower level needs (McLeod 2007).

Personally, I am at a stage where I no longer seek for social recognition or just a pay-check. I look for opportunities for growth, creativity and advancement.

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Leading Tomorrow

In the foreseeable future, the most effective leaders will lead from behind, not from the front(Hill 2019). I am inclined to adopt Laissez-Faire style of leadership, just like Ricardo Semler. It will not feel natural, but I believe sometimes doing ‘less is more’.

My experiences from studying and working with people of different nationalities have helped me become the Leader I am today. Everyone is different and I have learnt to appreciate them all. I keep learning, I keep growing.

Like Indra Nooyi, I hope to be a leader who people love to follow.

I am #GirlOnTheMove

References

Buckingham, M. (2005). What great managers do. IEEE Engineering Management Review, 33(2), 3-10.

Hill, L., & Lineback, K. (2012). Good Managers lead through a Team. The Portal. Journal of the International Association of Movers.

Hill, L. (2019). Leading from Behind. [online] Harvard Business Review. Available at: https://hbr.org/2010/05/leading-from-behind [27 Nov. 2019].

Johnson, G., Scholes, K., Whittington, R., Angwin, D. and Regnér, P. (2017) Exploring Strategy : Text And Cases. 11th edition. Harlow: Pearson education Limited

McLeod, S. (2007). Maslow’s hierarchy of needs. Simply psychology, 1.

Mullins, L.J. (2016), Management and Organisational Behaviour, 9th Edition, Harlow: Pearson Higher Education.

Schrage, M. (2016) ‘Like It or Not, You Are Always Leading by Example’ Harvard Business Review [online] October 05, 2016.  Available from < https://hbr.org/2016/10/like-it-or-not-you-are-always-leading-by-example> [04 December 2019]

Yukl, G. (2013) Leadership in organizations. 8th edition. Harlow: Pearson Education Limited