5 Things I’m Doing To Lead Better

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“You’re a natural leader” — this is something that I’ve been told since I was in my early 20s. I never really understood what it meant, but I always took it as a compliment. Today, when I think about what kind of leader I want to be, I am drawn towards a more collaborative, balanced and forward approach to leadership. You can rely on your natural tendencies to be a good leader, but it’s not enough to stay a good leader. Just like every skill in the world, it needs honing, thought, practice and evolution. Here are some of the things I’m doing, with examples, to become the kind of leader I aspire to be.

1. Don’t hate, delegate
   In the early days of my career, I struggled with delegation. This is because I didn’t understand the concept of letting go. I wouldn’t micromanage other people, but I wouldn’t give the work away either. As a result, I’d build resentment within and feel frustrated, but I’d also be overloaded with the work that I refused to delegate. This style was not sustainable. I slowly realised that everyone’s learning curve might not be the same as mine, so I started creating room for people to adapt to new working styles, new jobs and measured incremental changes instead. That was a game changer for me. I now set expectations with my team that while they can do the job or the work in a style that’s comfortable to them, the end outcome is specific. This also helps people plan ahead or plan backwards. Delegation isn’t weakness, it’s actually powerful. Don’t assume that someone can’t do the job better than you or as well as you. They need the right tools and resources and you should be the one that gives them the support. And that brings me to my second point.
2. Be an enabler, not a blocker
   Once you delegate work, learn to develop trust. If it’s a new person and that’s hard for you to do, reset your expectations because it’s likely that they won’t do exactly what you want them to. It takes time for people to work like a well-oiled machine, and expecting it to happen over night isn’t just impractical, it’s impossible. With these biases, you’re basically setting them up for failure, which is a very unfair thing to do. I’m not saying I’ve always been good at this but I learn so much every single day on the job. If you’re not enabling your team to take decisions themselves, they can’t do anything without you. We’re now a small team of five at my current organization, but I make sure that my team feels confident in taking decisions themselves and take on more individual accountability each quarter. Similarly, if there’s someone who works better as an individual contributor and is clear about not wanting more accountability, then find a different way to handle their role. You can’t force people to go against their core nature. This has done wonders for our team because it gives them a sense of purpose, and a feeling of mutual trust. It makes them feel like they’re here for a reason and that they can get the job done. This dynamic also helps when you might have a personal emergency and need to put someone incharge to look over things. That’s also when you’ll learn who’s most dependable.
3. Set clear personal and professional boundaries.
   I’m very open minded when it comes to leadership styles. I don’t believe in traditional corporate structures where everything is an application, a form-fill and there’s no human connection whatsoever. For me it’s not “cut off after 6pm” from your work folks, nope. I don’t function that way and I’m glad that I don’t. I care about my team and the people I work with. I spend more time with my colleagues than my family — and for the time you’re working with them, they become an integral part of your day. Their personal losses and gains are a source of sadness and joy respectively for our team. So it’s very natural that you learn about their interests, their families, their lives etc. However, I do understand that we’re also here to do our jobs and business outcomes do matter. I tell my team repeatedly that my critique on a certain project is not a blind reflection of what I think of them as people and that it doesn’t have to affect our overall dynamic. I ensure that our unified focus, as a team, is the quality of the output we produce and that we’re allowed to poke and prod until we get that. We’re allowed to push each other until that point and it’s something we all understand and agree upon.
4. Let people rest when they need to
   Pushing people beyond their capacity doesn’t always work. I understand that everyone might need a nudge to hit their actual potential, but I’ve seen a lot of leaders and bosses just not know when to stop. And that is something I’ve learned NOT to do over the years. I’d much rather give someone who has really great potential a few days off here and there to recoup than lose them for good. I’d prefer not lose the value they bring to the team, the talent that I hunted to find — all over a few days off or a low-phase they’re going through. If it’s something deeper, it’s probably something they need help with. If you know their true potential, you’d ideally guide them back towards it than get rid of them. The trade-off makes zero sense to me. The other question to ask here is WHY are they so exhausted or tired? Are they hitting too many roadblocks? Is a process that YOU designed failing and they’re not telling you? Don’t make assumptions. Dig deep and find out why things are the way they are. I’ve been vocal enough to ask my bosses for breaks when things have been unbearable for me. And to my surprise, they’ve always given it to me. Ask for a break, ask for rest. Both marathons and sprints need rest times. How they choose to rest doesn’t matter as long as they’re given the option. If people wanted you to operate like a machine, you wouldn’t do it for too long either. Remember that the people that report to you are people too.
5. Your team’s spirit is on you
   Jobs today aren’t like they were back then. In this pandemic, all lines between personal and professional lives are blurry. You’re never “OFF” even when you’re off. You’re on the phone, texting, responding to emails, watching your colleagues on social media. There is no “at work / outside work” anymore. Your team’s environment at work deeply impacts how well they do their jobs. Check on them individually every once in a while in a personal capacity, organize a non-work team activity (we watch 90s tamil movies and cringe together), organize zoom pictionary or play on skribble. There’s plenty of things to do to keep the camaraderie going. Don’t make it all about work all the time.

There are a bunch of other things I do, but these are my key ones. Comment below what your leadership style is and how you function, I’d love to know!