I have been really blessed in my career as far leaders are concerned. I have had the privilege of working with some truly exceptional leaders. Working with them and as part of their teams has not only shaped my career but also left a lasting impact on my own approach to leadership. Sharing some my learnings
🚀 Push the Agenda: Never settle for the same, and never ok with
status quo. There was an unsaid need to move the needle, to improve, to push things, to get better. They understood that progress requires a proactive approach, pushing boundaries and finding gaps. Whether it is building functional excellence, or supporting business, the focus was on adding value. Managing and maintaining does not bring real change.
🌟 Innovation: Innovation isn’t a fancy word; it’s a mindset. I learned about the culture of innovation that involves a top down and bottoms ups approach. Encouraging diverse perspectives, embracing failure, and putting your vision in the center to drive progress. Even in structured environment, I experienced how do we level up constantly. They were always thinking about doing new things, trying new things, bringing new thinking or transforming.
😄 Have Fun: One of the most inspiring aspects was their ability to infuse fun, casual and take it easy approach. While standards for performance were always high, the way to meet those standards was done in the most casual way. The process does not burn you but infect excites you. That begins with building a very personal relationship that at the core is around trust. You do crazy things in a cut-throat environment but in a way that makes the journey fun and you never stay up at night.
🌱 Support Development / Create Opportunities: Couple of my own life altering moments happened because my leaders decided to take a chance upon me, and gave me opportunities. The best leaders look after their people and are constantly looking to elevate them. They invest in people with a belief that the potential needs to be maximized. They take risks with their teams, put them in front, always give their own people opportunities first before looking out.
They are Enablers: This is a leadership style and to me the best. The best leaders are always enabling people around them. They give immediate and candid feedback and even when they don’t agree they never stop you. They share concern and offer an alternate way to look at them. With them I rarely heard a “no”. They are thoughtful in their views and what concerns they have. For most parts, they offer support, find channels to make your life easy and always encourage. You see work, flow around them.
There are many more lessons. I built a lot of my own style learning from these and it continues to evolve grounded on some very strong principles and values which is also consistent with them.
What have you learned from the best leaders you worked for?
