Monthly Archives: June 2013

The leadership style which I like to follow is that of a Trust Builder. “The leader as a Communicator book” subscribed to us in the course on Leadership style details down various Leadership style as is followed by different industry leaders, and this is one of them.  When leading people in a team, I like to keep everyone at the same level. To me, for a team to actually work successfully (with everyone content), I like to foster a healthy environment and be very approachable.

To have a difficult, unapproachable and not supportive person as a leader of a team can be very demotivating. It could not only make working in a team difficult but also restrain individual growth. A leader is supposed to lead his team, and not hamper growth. By being understanding and approachable, a leader can motivate his/her team members to come up to him/her with any problem professional and even sometimes personal (only if they come in the way of professional growth).  It will encourage team members to speak their mind, participate freely in group discussions and be open to criticism. In some sense, being a trust builder also helps a leader. It helps him put things as they are in front of his/her team members, if conditions are bad, he/she can paint the correct picture more precisely for the team.

A team is comprised of people coming from different sill sets, different backgrounds and, in today’s fast shrinking world, of different cultures. In such a scenario understanding cultural differences, working styles and other differences becomes all the more important for a leader. By understanding these small differences and acting precisely on them he can bring the team even more together and hence gain trust of his/her team member for leading them in the right direction.

From all the facets of “Leader as a trust builder”, I am not a big fan of being informal. In my last company, I was supposed to lead a group of 4-5 individuals and things got pretty bad. The problem was most of 3 of these people used to be my friends from my last job and when I changed jobs to join a start-up, I got promoted and these guys followed me to join the company with me as their leader. The first few months went  quite smoothly as we all knew each other’s strengths and weaknesses. However, as time passed, situations/scenarios expected me to be strong handed with 1-2 of them occasionally. My team mates (being also my friends) did not take things as seriously as they were supposed to, ending in creating more problems than solutions. There were frequent heated discussions and arguments which really spoiled the working environment and made it toxic. Eventually I had to put my foot down and roll over as the manager of his group.  The learning I got from this experience was never treat your team members as your friends. One should be informal to an extent, but never ever try to be friends with people who he/she will eventually be leading.

My leadership style is very similar to that of a Trust Builder, as described in ‘The Leader as a Communicator’ book.  I prefer to be on the same level as people and tend to believe that people on the bottom of a businesses hierarchy have just as good of ideas, if not better ideas, than those at the top.  They are the ones responsible for the day-to-day operations and have a better understanding of things that are and are not working effectively.   If leaders don’t address colleagues as equals, an atmosphere of fear will be created and those with ideas will be hesitant to share them.  I have worked in environments like this; they are truly toxic as they stifle people’s confidence, job satisfaction, and productivity.

I also want to work in an environment that fosters constructive feedback.  The above atmosphere does not allow for constructive criticism.  People tend to understand if a supervisor they like and respect criticizes their work (they feel their must be a logical reason) but feel angry if somebody criticizes their work that they view as an opponent.  Personally, I like getting constructive feedback and intend to give it as well.  Simple and direct honesty is a corporate culture I would promote.

I also prefer informality in the office, why should people pretend to be somebody their not just because they’re at work?  I believe this is inhibitive.  However, if people want to dress up to express themselves, of course this would be acceptable and of course there are times when wearing a suit will be required.

I will also lead by example.  My father owned furniture stores while I was growing up and always admired the fact that he worked longer hours than his employees.  He showed commitment and integrity and, because of this, his employees were extremely loyal to him and worked harder because of it.  I will be the same.  If there is a tight deadline and my team is staying late to finish it, I will stay with them and be visible and available.  This also created a sense of community, much like a meaning maker strives to achieve.

Working in teams is always an excellent challenge.  Everybody has diverse styles of working and you have to determine, sometimes by trial and error, which working styles are the most effective for each particular team/teammate.  Strong communication is essential on school and work teams.  I’ve learned that the critical first step for all group projects is an introductory meeting.  The meeting basically sets ground rules, determines/delegates specific tasks and deadlines, and sets the next meeting time.  Digital communication is a blessing and curse.  It can lead to misunderstandings but it also increases efficiency.  There must be a balance between emails and phone/in-person discussions because in-person communication tends to cultivate ideas and reduce redundancies/miscommunications.

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