In this phase of personal and professional change, I have been dedicating time to reflecting on what will make me happy and how it will manifest in improving the lives of others. I’ve been reviewing my core values, my personal skills, what I have enjoyed most about the professional experiences that I have had so far, and how I can continue to grow to make a greater impact.
As I read through a file that I keep of feedback and gratitude notes, documents, and emails, there was a common thread that I found leading in a positive trajectory towards the type of leader I want to be. It began as a lesson from a mentor of mine in 2014, as a lesson in managing stress, conflict, and expectations:
You have to learn how to paint with a bigger brush.
I had to start telling the difference between a mountain and a mole hill. When everything is a matter of principle, nothing is a matter of principle. Leadership isn’t about always being right or always having the best answer. Sometimes stepping back and being a team player is of greater value to an organization and works to build your value and credibility with others. I struggled with not having decision-making power while still having to be the point person for major projects and initiatives. It took time to learn how to empower and leverage the expertise of others to foster organizational knowledge sharing. As is the case in many organizations knowledge is power and I fell victim to the fear that who was I and what was my purpose if not to know certain things?
So I had to ask myself, is Leadership about knowing things? The answer I came to was NO. Progress happens through an exchange of knowledge. Greater value comes from helping people to make sustainable connections amongst one another rather than playing conduit between them. But there’s more to it than that.
I had to give up control, but retain full responsibility.
I figured out that people felt more empowered in their own roles if they could own finding/designing solutions to greater problems the business was looking to solve. If I could set clear expectations when I delegated responsibility, people felt that they could be successful at achieving the task at hand, with autonomy to do the task their own way. I fundamentally believe that this is one of the ways that leaders contribute to the growth and development of their team members. Challenging people to critically think, apply knowledge, and experiment to come up with an answer keeps them cognitively engaged and strengthens the outcome – particularly if they too learn the importance of leveraging the knowledge of others.
Leadership is about the ownership of outcomes and the responsibility of removing barriers or creating opportunities for others to bring their passion, curiosity, and talents to the work that they do to manifest those outcomes. Organizational demands are too great for leaders to be knowledge experts and soul decision-makers. They have to remain focused on bringing out the best in their individual team members through trust, communication, and empowerment for collective contributions to decisions and outcomes. I dedicate myself to giving all of my team members the opportunity to have a seat at the table.