Leadership Lessons through my lens
Does it happen to you, when you look at some interesting quotes on leadership, you actually relate them to some good and inspiring leaders with whom you have worked or working with. Yes, that happens to me often especially when I read Simon Sinek’s quotes on leadership. I ‘m very fortunate to have worked with some great leaders in my career. Also they have been my mentors (even after I ended working with them), whom I still consult when I need any advice. Here are some experiences that I want to share with you all:
Quote 1: “ Good Leadership is always human. It takes time and energy. It is hard work. Which is why good leadership is so special when you find it. “ — Simon Sinek’
In the year of 2010, while my base location was still Bangalore for short duration I worked from Chennai M-City Infosys Campus and I had a privilege to stay in Employee Care Center within campus. At that time, I started working with completely new team and on a new platform. One day I was working late and happened to execute some bunch of rules that led to some database deadlock issue, with limited DB privileges that I had I couldn’t figure out the issue and at the same time not knowing about it I was terrified and informed my lead, Sunil in US. To my surprise he did not react negatively, he simply said “mistakes happen , we should learn from them , don’t panic , leave office for now as it is already late , you can resume your work tomorrow”. Next day in the morning I quickly got ready and rushed to office by sharp 6:30 AM (my usual log in time is 9 AM :)). I messaged Sunil on Lync and informed that issue still remains the same, first thing he asked was if I had my breakfast and convinced me that Good Breakfast is Good Start for the day. He ensured I had my breakfast before restarting the services / fixing the issue.
Later I got know purposefully Sunil did not fix the issue right away as I might stretch till late evening to finish my remaining work. Are you wondering how I got to know, after an year or so I met a team member from US who was working next to Sunil that day and got to know that he pretended to be away so that I will leave from work (as I was adamant not to leave without getting the issue fixed :D).
Being human and accepting mistakes are basic qualities of leader that are often forgotten. When team members feel safe to share their challenges, as a leader you are not only providing learner safety but also encouraging them to come up with new ideas and hence you build high performing teams.
Quote 2: “Giving people self-confidence is by far the most important thing that I can do as a leader. Because then they will act.” — Jack Welch
Great leaders believe in their people, that helps in building trust and good understanding.
A few years ago while I was still working as a data architect , within the same company I wanted to try my hand at something different. I happened to talk about it with one of the leaders, we had couple of discussions , after usual interview formality I was offered a new position on his team in spite of knowing I have no prior experience in the new role. I am sure , that leader had trust in me that I will learn and perform well. This opportunity instilled confidence in me, indeed I enjoyed, learned a lot (many from my failures) and today I can proudly tell that I coached multiple teams , many individuals and inspired some to pursue their career in agile transformation.
How often leaders are willing to give the opportunities considering your career aspirations?
My sincere request, if you have worked / working with such good leaders tell them how grateful you are and what it means to have a job that you are passionate about. :)
Quote 3: “Leader’s Job is not to do the work for others; it’s to help others figure out how to do it themselves, to get things done and to succeed beyond what they thought possible” -Simon Sinek
Not long ago I happened to present my work in some leadership forum, I definitely had some good content, end purpose was clear but what I was not aware; I presented as though I am talking to my team in a very casual style due to which it was not a powerful pitch. After the presentation , my leader approached me congratulating on my presentation and asked ,”How do you think it went?” I said “I think I was able to convey the message and ‘m glad it went fine”. Next he said “ Yes, you have definitely conveyed the essence. Have you thought of adapting your communication style as per your audience, if so what you could have done differently?” Tada! That helped me realize the examples I picked , the language I used could have been more effective.
Yes, great leaders always listen first, they ask for your opinion, they make you believe that you are important and always acknowledge / appreciate your work without delay.
Last but not the least, leadership skills are essential for all as Simon Sinek said “Leadership is a CHOICE not a RANK.”
