12 mins read . by Sandeep Mahagaonkar . August 7, 2015
The project deadlines were extremely tight and a commitment was made to the customer that the software would be delivered on time. My team and I had closed on the coding and shared the application to David, the onsite project manager to provide his final go ahead. It was 2 a.m. and we had been spending sleepless nights working on this project to see it off the door.
This perhaps would be the last of the late night slogging on this project and we hoped normalcy would soon return. Then at 2.30 a.m., half an hour after the application was provided to David, we got a frantic call from him and he demanded to speak to Sachin – the development manager to whom we all reported. We politely informed that Sachin was not around and it would be wise to wait a few hours before he arrived at office. David was adamant in his ask and we had to conference Sachin at time when he would perhaps be seeing his umpteenth dream.
Sachin was soon connected and David informed him that was going to call off the project delivery as he discovered issues in the application. We were crest-fallen. We had toiled day and night to make this delivery successful, but we were being told that the project would be scrapped. Sachin enquired what was wrong and then made a stoic assurance that the software will be re-delivered for testing the next day and that he had the utmost confidence in us that we would deliver. David checked what would happen if the issues resurface the subsequent day. Sachin said he would own up the responsibility and was answerable to management.
These words fired us all up. Firstly, Sachin’s confidence on the team that we could deliver and secondly, his belief that the team won’t let him down in the testing of times. This was enough for us to do whatever it took. It was like a personal battle which we had to win for Sachin – and we did.
I was overwhelmed by what had transpired. The leader showing confidence, the team coming together like never before and working on a common mission and making the nearly impossible task possible and eventually a satisfied customer. All this made me wonder the magic of leadership. Since then I have become a student of leadership and tried to read and analyze almost every person I have worked with and their leadership styles – how they react to crisis, how they stay poised in times of uncertainty, how they communicate transparently and many other aspects.
If you are working in a corporate or serving a community or involved in a team sport, you would know the essence and importance of a role of a leader. Most of us would have seen executives elevated to leadership roles either flourish or flounder. Most of us would have seen executives who are visionaries with extraordinary technical skills, but have failed to impress at leadership roles. On the contrary, someone with solid – but not exceptional – technical and intellectual capabilities having done exceedingly well in leadership positions.
I wondered what it really takes to be a leader of men (and women of course!). I have spoken to more than 30 leaders, read and researched elaborately on leadership styles and applied my own experience on what it takes to be an effective leader. Based on these discussions and research, I believe the following characteristics contribute in making great leaders. There might be many more – there still are many researches going on in this area – but I’m documenting what I feel important at this point in time.
Is Internally Driven
This perhaps is one virtue that all effective leaders possess. An internally driven leader seldom cares about external rewards that includes, but not limited to – money or flashy titles that come with promotions. Such people are extremely passionate about the work they do and seek out for tasks that challenge them; tasks that bring out the creative best in them; tasks that make them challenge the status quo and make them undertake a journey of finding something better. They don’t wait for things to happen, but rather make things happen. In other words, they are opportunity oriented.
A leader that I know of from my previous organization called all his team members into a meeting room to announce a major restructuring that the board had decided to implement. This restructuring exercise affected his work more than anyone else – as he was asked to undertake responsibility of a project which was in dire straits. The existing project was doing well, and such a change would come as a major setback to anyone, but not for this man.
As he gathered all his troops into the room he mentioned of the restructuring and said “I’m sure we all will figure out how we can exploit this change as a way to express our work better and contribute to the organizations overall goals.” We all were perplexed. There was no hint of remorse on this leader’s part but only a positive affirmation that this change can only be an opportunity to learn, grow and take the game to the next level.
Two years down the line, we were not surprised to see that he had completely reversed the situation of the team and it had become a profitable unit – replete with a pipeline of new leads and sales opportunities.
“If you set the performance bar high for yourself, you will do the same for the organization when you are in a position to do so. And of course, optimism and organizational commitment are fundamental to leadership— just try to imagine running a company without them.”
-Daniel Goleman.
Realizes That The Team Is Playing To Win As Opposed To Playing Not To Lose
Harsha Bhogle, in his book The Winning Way, captures this point sensationally. Cricket dislikers – spare me! But you’ll love this – so please read on.
Back in April 2006, Australia had toured Bangladesh at the end of a long and a very tiring season. The Australian players were exhausted and Brett Lee had apparently commented there was no fuel in the tank, but only fumes. Aussies were not as intense as they normally were and at the end of first day’s game, Bangladesh were 355 for 5, a situation that they had rarely expected and perhaps had hardly found themselves in before. At the press conference later that evening, Habibul Bashar the captain of the Bangladesh team astonishingly said that if they added another 100 to their score, they would be safe. People gathered at the press conference were astounded by these remarks as the score was already a winning one, but the captain chose to believe they were not safe yet.
At the end of second day, Australia were in a spot of bother at 145 for 6 and the vice-captain of the Australian team Adam Gilchrist addressing the press conference said ‘We’re in a bit of a hole, and need to figure out how to win from here.’ The statements from two individuals exposed the state of their minds – and of their teams – very clearly.
“If, all your life, you have aspired not to lose, being ‘safe’ is an accomplishment. Bangladesh, through years of defeat, were unaware that they were in a winning position. The champions, Australia, on the other hand were always moving ahead, they were focusing on victory.”
-Harsha Bhogle.
Bonus point for reading through: You don’t have to have the title of a leader (or manager, or director, or VP… substitute the title that you are chasing) to exhibit leadership. Gilchrist was not the captain of the side, but felt responsible for the fortunes of his team. In team sports and at work, glory is achieved when the whole team does their bit exceptionally well. Yes there will be sparks of brilliance from an individual at times – learn from them and be willing to support them as well, for we all know, they shall also face turbulent times.
So what’s your approach on your projects? Do you and your team believe that any challenges are surmountable or are rendered helpless by self-doubt? Think about it.
Empowers People And Trusts Them
I’ve captured this point in detail at the start of this article. In the situation outlined, the trust that Sachin demonstrated in the team when the chips were down not only helped in successful delivery of the project, but also helped build a long term relationship with the team. We all knew we would get any support from him should the need arise. The team sometimes was routinely lost in innovation – trying different stuff – that helped build new features or come up with optimized code that drastically improved performance. All this was possible because the team felt empowered.
Give people the power or authority to experiment, to suggest new ideas, to be brutally honest in their opinions without fearing any bureaucracy that may exist. This may turn out to be the keystone habit that can set many other things right in your team and in your leadership.
Is Self-Aware And Empathetic
These are two powerful but highly underrated characteristics in today’s world.
“Self-awareness means having a deep understanding of one’s emotions, strengths, weaknesses, needs, and drives. People with strong self-awareness are neither overly critical nor unrealistically hopeful. Rather, they are honest— with themselves and with others.”
-Daniel Goleman
Being a visionary and strategic thinker are exceptional qualities to have, but minus the ability to realistically assess one’s own abilities – one’s strengths and weaknesses and positive effect on others, you, as a leader, won’t have a strong following.
This is demonstrated by one of the studies conducted on leadership. In this study, self-awareness was one of the criteria that topped the list of most desired characteristics in leaders. It also indicates that high self-awareness score was the strongest predictor of overall success. This is an interesting find. Self-aware leaders realize that the magnanimity of knowledge doesn’t rest with a single individual and that different people in the team can contribute significantly well on different ideas and tasks.
Empathy on the other hand means, as rightfully put by Daniel Goleman
“Thoughtfully considering employees’ (or other individuals) feelings—along with other factors— in the process of making intelligent decisions.”
To empathize is to see the world from another person’s perspective. Thinking in today’s world is dominant with “My way highway” approach. Although this approach might work in certain circumstances (e.g., when there is no solution in sight or the team has tried and exhausted all potential options to tackle a problem), it can fail miserably in most cases. In my interview with Venkatesh DK, the topic of empathy is elaborately discussed.
To me, I have practiced over the years to be more attentive to what others say and reciprocate to their thoughts. I had the habit of subconsciously thinking what I am going to say next as the other person spoke. To me, earlier, it was not important what the other person spoke, but when he would end speaking so that I could pour forth my brilliant ideas (or so I thought!) I was so keen on getting my words right, that I would have missed the primary essence of the other persons suggestions or thoughts.
Being more attentive is a very simple and powerful practice. It not only helps you be high on people’s likeability quotient, it also helps finding solutions to problems faster.
Has a Today-For-Today And Today-For-Tomorrow Strategy
I borrow these phrases today-for-today and today-for-tomorrow strategies from a paper published by Derek Abell. A modern day leader needs to balance the demands of the current business context (today-for-today) and also have a vision and mission towards the dynamics of changing business (today-for-tomorrow).
“Many companies are overmanaged and underled.”
-John Kotter
The operational execution of daily tasks is as pivotal as foreseeing the disruptive transformations that are occurring at breakneck speed. A balanced leader understands these nuances well and aligns his or her work accordingly. When the leader understands what is required to what is expected, he or she is helping the business thrive.
Praises In Public And Criticizes In Public
Let’s face it – We are all grown up adults. As much as we take pride in being appreciated, we should also take responsibility when suggested to correct. At times, when criticized in public, the ego hurts – no doubting that, but committed team players don’t take such matters to the heart. Instead they apply themselves on the job so that the mistake doesn’t repeat again.
The criticism, if not personal by nature, should be taken constructively, irrespective of the environment in which it’s given – in public or in private.
“If you’re like most leaders, you believe in the adage ‘praise in public and criticize in private.’ So when a team member does something that negatively affects the team, you usually talk to the team member in private. But this can be a dangerous adage to follow because it significantly reduces accountability, the quality of team decisions, and your team’s ability to manage itself.”
-Roger Schwarz
One of the early experiences that I have of being criticized in public was on my first job. The culture of the company was to address bosses as “Sir!” I might have been either too naïve (being just out of college) or vainglorious (being the only engineer in the group) to acknowledge the fact that I too should address my bosses the same way. I deviated from the culture and called bosses by their names. This went on for a few weeks and during one of the meetings, my boss interrupted the status update that I was giving and questioned me (I had used his name before I started with my updates) – Sandeep, tell me one thing… Am I your friend or your boss?
I was at loss of words. The whole team around me stood in silence. I wanted the earth to gobble me up. I mustered the required will and muttered – you are my boss. He then told me to address him the same way everyone else does. I sheepishly agreed. I felt he could have perhaps told this to me one-on-one, but later realized he was trying to send a message to the entire team that deviations to existing norms would not be entertained. It was uncomfortable in the beginning, but I managed to get along fine as time passed.
As long as the leader ensures the feedback or remarks are not scathing and it does not border on personal integrity (and that it’s kept at a professional level), the leader is doing just fine. The team needs to acknowledge this fact and ensure they all move along in the right earnest.
Acts Willfully In Times Of Crisis
This is easier said than done. Crisis is not an everyday matter for people to get experienced in that – but when it does occur the best of leaders handle it with a strong degree of conviction and flair.
“The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort and convenience, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.”
Martin Luther King, Jr.
