Effective Leadership

Leadership has always been dear to my heart. Can’t remember how that grew but I know it has always been there.

The first attempt I made at bringing people together far back in the University was when I created a group on Leadership. It was after I have taken a course on edX on Inclusive Leadership (also the first course I ever took after discovering the beauty of MOOCs).

When I join any organisation, the first thing I am looking to understand is also Leadership. How do they lead? What kind of examples do they set? What sort of behaviour do they incentivise? and so on.

It matters greatly because humans thrive and fall based on the quality of the Leadership that guides them. Throughout my career, I have been fortunate to witness some of the finest Leadership. And often, I wonder if I will ever match them, yes they are the finest. I also never shy away from asking them about their mindset to understand why they can lead finely.

I got a few of those this week that I love and it resonates.

1. Be yourself ( granted that you are fundamentally not broken)
2. Trust your team and
3. Know your people beyond work.

I find those 3 awesome because when I look back, it summarises a bunch of what I have observed in a lot of those I admire.

The most subjective is #1, it’s why I added the clause as well. But it also drives home an important point that if you are not a good person yourself, it will be hard to be a great leader. It also means different people will do leadership differently and that’s okay. As long as it helps achieve the goal and sets people up for success.

Important to add here that being a great leader doesn’t mean everyone has to like you. No! And your goal should never be to be liked. That’s a journey you don’t want to embark on. Rather, your focus should be on bringing the best out of your people, giving them a sense of purpose (building something bigger than them), and delivering on your core responsibilities. Otherwise, everyone will go home if they can’t deliver.