Some lessons on leadership

In critical times like this, the world looks to its leadership even more for guidance. However, in many countries, there is a dearth of leadership as few dare to rise up to the challenge, or there is simply no one capable of exercising effective leadership.

I've been reflecting on some of my experiences in leadership and found to my dismay that while I've made improvements in many aspects, I've also not made any progress in some.

Management gurus often advocate the use of a journal to chart one's progress and reflect on successes and failures in the learning process. After all, someone who makes a mistake without realising it, nor makes a conscious attempt to correct it, will most probably make the same mistake the next time. This logic, although sounding very much like common sense, is commonly or conveniently overlooked by most people.

Using the microcosm of a team, let me list some lessons on what worked for me and what improvements can be made:

What worked:

• Having a vision and an even better plan of realising it: A team with a leader but without a vision and a proper plan to realise that vision is doomed to miss the mark. Most of the time, it is the leader who provides the vision and who has a somewhat general plan of realising that vision. It is up to the team to further refine the plan and achieve it.
  

• Adopting a facilitative style of leadership: As an intermediary of sort, the leader has to provide a platform for an intense and close-knit working environment for team members to not only know each others' working styles, but also know each other on a personal basis. A team whose members' working styles complement each other, and have friendship as a secondary enforcing layer, will be more effective than others.
  

• Inspiring members by example: Team members will subconsciously observe and learn from the leader the best and worst case practices. A leader who comes late for meetings or leaves early while his team members are still slogging through work will only inspire the same behavior and mentality. Similarly, someone who is bold and goes all out to achieve his objectives will inspire confidence and hope. In crises, team members will always look to the leader for guidance and inspiration.
  

What else can be done:

• Don't be afraid to delegate work: Don't do all the work or the bulk of it yourself, no matter how tempting it is. While questions of the members' ability to do quality work will arise, they are your team members and do deserve a certain level of trust and respect.

• Involve members throughout the entire process: Involving them only at the middle or the end will only limit their operational knowledge to those parts of the project. They will not take too much of an initiative to improve upon the project should they see any weaknesses in it.

• Don't rush the planning process: The boldest of goals and best of intentions can be mislaid by rushing the planning process. Problems will arise such as (1) proper objectives are not set, (2) contingencies are not prepared, (3) the wrong people are chosen to handle the wrong set of responsibilities, and of course the most overlooked aspects of the project: (4) post-project activities and the future direction of the project.
  

• Align the aims of the project with the wants of the members: Too many times, people leave the project or express dissatisfaction with their contribution because (1) they feel that they are unable to contribute much, (2) they are not given more room to contribute or learn, or (3) the aims of the project are not aligned with their personal aims and values. No matter how diverse the team is, the leader has to align these goals and values together for maximum retention of members in the team.