I've had the good fortune of learning from a number of excellent leaders. They have inspired me to adopt and incorporate many of their attitudes and approaches into my personal management style. Were they perfect? No, no one is... but imperfection didn't keep them from being a great leader. They made up for shortcomings by excelling in other important areas and leveraging team members that accel in those areas to fill in gaps. I'm definitely imperfect and trying to be better everyday.
At different stages of my career I needed a different kind of leader. I'd like to share some of the lessons I learned from my favourite managers and leaders. In no particular order...
The Humble Dad
Normally at large companies executives are not that accessible to front line workers. But I was lucky enough to be part of a department run by a humble and curious executive. I met with him quarterly to talk about projects I was working on, and he seems genuinely interested. We talked about shared hobbies. These interactions made my work feel more impactful and helped me see how powerful taking some time to listen and help can be for those junior to you.
The Big Brother
I had a number of managers that expanded our relationship beyond just the typical manager / employee relationship. They shared glimpses of their personal life and took time to learn about my interests. Our conversation, would run the gambit of work, economy, woodworking, gardening, etc. Over time, our relationship felt more like a friendship or partnership. This made me feel compelled to go above and beyond, to do my best as I felt invested in their success because they are my friend and trusted they will do the same for me. I've seen this type of relationship backfire with others. They felt the friendship means they don't need to put in as much effort and can just coast on the basis of the relationship.
The Clever Builder
Educated as an engineer, I've always placed a lot of value on technical skills. Amongst my friend and peers. I'm usually the "technical" one. But one of the managers got to work for always amazed me with the technical skills he had in his tool kit. He could code, he knew servers, he knew security, it seemed like there was no technical skill he didn't possess. Working for him, it seemed like there were not technical barriers we could build a solution for. It was like a superpower and reinforced my thirst to constantly learn. Looking back, while we were able to seemingly solve any technical problem... it wasn't always the easiest to maintain and scale across the team.
The Diplomat
Being a class act at all time is really tough. No matter how tough things got he never lost his cool and could find the silver lining. Being a peacekeeper and getting warring factions to work with each other is an underappreciated skill. He wasn't super technical and didn't always have the answer, but he would ask questions that would help you put things in perspective and lead you to solve your own problem. This is when I started to realize the process of how problems are solved can cross industries and disciplines. The process is the important part and the rest are just the details to be filled in. This is when I started to put processes into frameworks.
The Mad Genius
As you advance in your career, many leaders lose the ability to get into the details. This manager could not only keep and eye on the strategy but could also roll up his sleeves and configure apps and platforms. He loved to dive into detail and understand how things are put together. What admired most was the unusual perspective he saw the world and would combine seeming unrelated ideas into something really innovative. Perhaps it's just I'm simpleminded While I'm not as creative... so instead I have tried to take different perspectives by taking the most obvious solution and flipping it upside down... what happens if we do the "opposite" does that generate a new idea or way to look at the problem... is there opportunity in the opposite? Sometimes it's a fruitless exercise... but sometimes you ask a question that you wouldn't have looked at.
I have been really lucky and have not had any horrible bosses (fun but crass movie). But have had some bad ones... you can use those bad experiences to know what to avoid doing and use how you would have liked to be treated, to add to your management style.
The Autocrat
He didn't have a discernible management philosophy and didn't have a vision... wanted each level to micromanage the next and felt that was the only way people can be trusted to get work done. Perhaps this is a reflection of his own lack of passion for the work. If we love what we do then we will naturally develop and opinion and eventual a vision of how things should be done and want to put it in place. We need to help those around us see the vision, so we are all driving toward it, and they can extrapolate and make the right decision when there is a fork in the road.
The Line Jumper
Doesn't it make your blood boil when you see someone jump the line? They try to get the benefit without putting in the time or effort... or try to benefit stepping on others. Probably the most damaging to the team at large is the "leader" that jumps in the last minute to report up or report out the project... implying to the audience her team was deeply involved... or worse her team did all the work. The takeaway is take time to build relationships with the benefactors of your work (including leaders of those team) so they understand the value you bring to them. Always give credit where credit is due.
On balance, I've been really fortunate to have worked with so many top quality leaders. Something all of these leaders had in common was how they protected and cared about the teams under their care. Ensuring we were happy, growing and treated well. There isn't one set of traits that make the perfect leader... it depends on your own skills and weaknesses and what your team needs. Use your experiences and aspirations to develop your own management style.
