For example, years ago I was brought onto the leadership team of a company in the midst of a huge shift from technology-push to consumer-pull. Around the same time, my new boss was also brought on board to lead the transition. I believe that a great deal of the company’s success was thanks to his leadership throughout the change— because he made the decision to join and lead a company whose values he believed in.
Reflecting on this experience led me to recall several throughout my career that have jointly shaped my personal commitments and actions.
When your internal motivation matches your business goals, you’re naturally more inclined to be passionate about the work you're doing and it shows. Passion and personal belief are contagious and elevate team productivity and excitement.
The framework of my current business model is ‘good for you, good for the planet, good for business.’ I deeply believe that when you prioritize work that is good for you (meaning your customers, your team and yourself) and good for the planet (every little bit helps, not only the few breakthroughs that shine a light over the path), then the impact and results will be good for business too. I’m constantly gut checking these core values in the work I do and am certain that my impact is greater because of it.
Take the time to analyze the way things are, and where business or cultural roadblocks may be arising. Once you identify areas for improvement, breaking it down to small chunks you can manage is key. I observed some of my peers in the example above do that very well.
Be confident and firm in your approach to shift the ways things are done— and remember to celebrate the stuff that’s working well.
When it comes to leading well, understanding your own shortcomings is imperative. Leadership doesn’t mean you’re great at everything, nor should you try to be. Know where you excel and know where you lack, and then build a team that allows you to mitigate that risk.
I once worked under a brilliant business leader who found it hard to make genuine human connections. He was aware of this trait in himself and instead of expelling energy to pretend otherwise, he built a team of empathetic change agents who made up for his limitations.
A solution is a means to an outcome, not the outcome itself. Your job is to ensure your team is equipped with the information, motivation, and perspective to prescribe effective solutions.
A manager may enact systems, processes and expectations, but a leader provides people with the ability to learn and evolve while leaving room for lessons learned. Enable them to solve problems well, but don’t do it for them. And remember that team challenges aren’t always a sign of weakness, but opportunities for growth. A former peer of mine, now in Asia, is one of the best role models I have seen in empowering, outcome-centric leadership. I did my best to try and learn from and with her as much as I could while we were working together. If you read this, you know who you are - Thank you!
Everyone on your team is going to be in a different place in their career, with perspective stemming from differing prior experiences and learning styles. People require a spectrum of guidance and support to reach differing goals. My first boss was a master at adapting to her audience. She showed me the ropes. Many moons later, I am still a humble student.
The ability to recognize and adapt to the needs of each team member is huge. Someone might value your ear as they think out loud in order to reach their best ideas. Another might need more consistent check-ins to feel fully supported. Someone else might shut down when they're overwhelmed but struggle to voice their needs. Know when to adapt your leadership style so you can help those around you to feel and be at their best.
Give people an opportunity to learn what they are doing wrong without being reprimanded. Most of the time, they will recognize when a mistake was made and naturally learn from it.
I’m a big believer in using correcting feedback sparingly so when it’s truly imperative (and at times it will be), it sticks with them. When the time comes, aim to keep the feedback constructive, fact-based, timely, and work together on action steps for avoiding the same mistakes in the future. Additionally, provide positive examples and encouraging suggestions for improvement.
I’d argue that this is one of the most valuable traits of all. Once you’re in a leadership position, high-level, senior strategy work typically becomes top priority. However, continuing to engage and help out on an operational level, whether that’s a technical discussion about experimental design in a lab or spending time better understanding customers on a personal level, is so valuable.
It isn’t hard to lose perspective and become detached from the day-in-day-out inner workings of a business. At one point or another, you’ve probably experienced leadership that made you feel as if they couldn’t possibly relate. Don’t lose touch and don’t stop getting your hands dirty. Being in the thick of it is where the magic often happens.
A business's success is in the sum of its assets and it is up to the leadership to build that end-to-end connection across the organization. In today’s world, interdependency is non-negotiable and success really does take a village. From internal counterparts and team members to external stakeholders, transformational growth is never a one person job. Together, we all make the system work.
For more info/questions about this topic or business transformation in general, please reach out to us at accelerate@growthride.com. We’re always grateful to keep the conversation going!
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