Is it great to be a leader?

Over years of my professional service I have had wonderful opportunities to work with a wide spectrum of people, some of them as my peers, some as stakeholders and some as my leaders. Due to a keen sense of observing people I am always inquisitive about the behavioral traits that people display in their respective roles at job. Fortunately, being in the IT industry, I had a lot of exposure and experience to work with teams of different sizes and skills. Also, I had chances to don different hats with respect to the roles within teams. One of the most coveted roles is 'leadership' and that is why we have the following question.

Question: Is it great to be a leader?
Answer: Yes, with its own demerits.

Before we get into the depth of the topic it makes sense to discuss about the cons of being a leader (pros are trivial). It is also useful to understand what it takes to be a true leader. At the end we shall talk about those little practices that have much bigger impacts on the acceptance and hence the success of leaders.

People are not born as leaders. They only possess leadership ‘instincts’. Leadership is a skill that is to be honed over time. Some do it at a rapid pace, some take their own time. Unfortunately, the definition of a leader is misunderstood in many instances, resulting into a lot of unrest and disbelief over this role. It is definitely great to be a leader; at the same time, being a leader brings together a lot of perils.

The Perils

The latest economic downturn has uncovered many secrets about leaders and their responsibilities. We have seen many heads roll over during the past year. Some of them can be justified, many of them cannot be. Is it an injustice to those who were sacked just because they could not control the economic tsunami? May be yes. However, the bare truth is, someone has to be blamed, and that ‘someone’ is always going to be the one who is at the helm.

When things go wrong, leaders are expected to take charge. They are expected to turn around companies with a smorgasbord of rapid changes. At the same time, changes will always be resisted and fingers will always be pointed on the credibility of those changes. What is the best way to handle this situation and still not lose the confidence of people?

Pundits often blame the ex-bosses of investment banks for the economic crisis that engulfed not only the financial markets but also had a cascading effect on the world business. The reasoning is their aggressive risk appetites and their unwillingness to stand out of the crowd and pull the chain. What is the best time to pull the chain? What are the risks associated with taking such hard stances?

The message is clear: Leadership is not always easy.

What makes a ‘true’ leader?

Every leader is different in terms of leadership ‘styles’. There are a set of baseline principles that are common across all these styles. The crux is to understand the difference between a) Adaptive management and b) Routine management. Gone are the days when leaders were only expected to do routine management jobs. Competition is fierce and leaders with non-adaptive styles will be confronted with difficult questions. Gone are the days when leaders used to ignore people and didn’t share the pie of the cake. It is absolutely necessary to take along people and make them a part of the success chain. Forming a clique of favorites is backfiring. A true leader is someone who is of the people, by the people and for the people. As someone correctly said: It is not important for a leader to be the smartest person in the room; but it is important for a leader to be able to pick the smartest persons in the room. Bossing around is over. Leaders should get on the dance floor and feel the heat; watching from the balcony alone will not work.

There are multiple ways to implement these principles. Leadership styles come into the game. However, styles are influenced by the intrinsic nature of leaders. It is difficult to tabulate which style scores more points over the other. Also, styles are situational. Sometimes it becomes imperative to shift gears.

There is no master guide to successful leadership. No B-school can transform oneself into a true leader; it can only facilitate the transition. It only boils down to one’s understanding of the role and the great amount of responsibility that comes along. The following lists down certain best practices that can prove handy as a leader.

Little practices with bigger impacts

“I” am avoided. Leaders are not expected to display their dominance (even if they follow a dominating style). Recently the CEO of a multinational was mocked at due to his frequent use of the word ‘I’. Phrases such as “I have decided”, “I will take a call” are best avoided.

Micro-management. The notion of micro-management is obsolete. People want freedom and more importantly they crave for their leaders’ trust. Micro-management is a negative move and should only be employed when trust is at stake. Enquiring about number of hours spent in office or watching out for people’s desktops during their leisure time are some of the mistakes that old-timers often make. Of course, business ethics have their own place in the system and it requires skill to draw the line of distinction.

The credit barter. It is all about playing the fair game. All of us love to be appreciated, be it in any form. Deserving candidates should be given their share of the credit; in fact it is their prerogative. Hence, it is also important for people, as well as their leaders, to make sure that deserving people are fairly credited. Also, such a barter system should not be skewed with any kind of ‘favoritism’. Coteries are always short-lived, nothing can be predicted about team dynamics and it is only a matter of time to realize the ill effects of coteries.

Timely and effective communication. This requires skills of the highest level. “When to communicate and what to communicate” has always been a dilemma. The issue is so sensitive that mishandling will almost always prove detrimental. Commands are mostly abhorred. Sweeter tones are often misinterpreted. The balance should be striking. When decisions are communicated, reasons affecting those decisions should also be communicated. It is not enough to say “Following is the guideline”, people also need answers for “Why is the guideline defined?” The first hand information to a subordinate should mandatorily flow from the leader and not from the peers.

Assessment and assignment. This is one of the most common areas in which leaders tend to flaw. People should be given ample and fair opportunities before their skill-sets are evaluated. Every person is unique in terms of his/her comfort level with varied skills. And ‘every’ person has a place in the organization. It is the onus of leaders to unleash the skills and find the best fit for people within teams and organizations. Forcing people to excel in skills that do not interest them can never produce great results. Multi-skilled employees are always desired. But, in reality, only a few of the lot have that kind of potential. Rest fall in the average and below-average range. In order to maximize productivity it is critical to understand individual skill-sets and identify fitting jobs for the rest of the lot, thereby, making everyone happy and comfortable with their respective jobs.

We often come across a famous management cliché about “getting people out of the comfort zone”. This is a good strategy when it comes to the professional development of employees over time. However, it is worthy to note that this will work only if individuals and their leaders have a mutual acceptance. Moving people out of their comfort zone without consent brings dissent. It is important for leaders to make people realize the pros and cons and present the bigger picture before they are moved out of their comfort zones.

Back your people. Leaders often tend to be diplomatic and let lose their stands under situations that challenge their positions. True leaders should always back their people, provided the issues are correct ethically and rationally, even if their jobs or roles are at stake. This takes a lot of mutual trust and courage. Everyone should feel safe and secure working with their leaders, no matter what their opinions might be.

Earn your respect. Respect cannot be bought; it can only be earned. Being a leader does not oblige people to respect you as a leader. At the same time, demanding respect is a sure way to lose respect. Remember that true leaders will always be hailed, wherever they go.

Hone leaders. One of the greatest qualities of true leaders is to identify and hone leaders. Unfortunately, at times, leaders try to suppress people who show potential to be future leaders because of uncertainties to their own roles. True leaders will always find their way to the top. If one cannot identify and appreciate leadership skills in others, one cannot be a true leader.

The above list is by no means exhaustive. It only lists few of the practices that I have learnt or would try to adhere to. As our HOD used to say: "Life is a learning process", and it indeed is ! May be I will add more points as time goes by..

Conclusion:

It is definitely great to be a leader. But it is equally important to understand the responsibility it carries along. Leaders are aplenty but 'true' leaders are and always will be a rare commodity.

Cheers!!!
Ron.
Disclaimer

Disclaimer

All my blogs represent 'my' standpoints derived from personal experiences, observations and facts from contemporary literature. I try to stick to 'advocacy journalism', meaning, most of my blogs (exception: travelogues) will be opinionated, factual and unbiased to most extent. You may agree or disagree with the text and are free to post your comments. However, please be informed that the intention is not to initiate a debate.

Tschuss!
Ron.
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