There are few career inflection points more challenging, or requiring more thoughtful planning, than assuming a position of leadership. We unconsciously acquire bits of our leadership persona over the course of our careers – sorting what we see into buckets of things we’d like to emulate, and those to avoid at all costs. Some of us have years to observe these behaviors and shape our own, while others find themselves quickly in senior leadership roles by virtue of technical innovation or a company’s founding. In either case, having the courage to be clear and authentic about who you are as a whole person eliminates wasteful guessing on the part of your team and frees up the organization to thrive.
What’s important to her? What does she really mean? How can I best deliver in a way she’ll be happy with? Without clarity, your team will spend unnecessary cycles trying to decode you, focusing on impression management and politics over collaboration and collective learning.
In fast growth businesses, where speed, learning, and course-correction are mission critical, every ounce of energy spent trying to understand and manage the reactions of a leader is energy not spent building products, the culture, and the business. Being clear about your motivations and sharing what matters to you, personally and professionally, creates psychological safety for your team. That sense of safety allows your team the freedom to be authentic themselves, to take risks, and to focus on innovation and growth. Not only are the goals and objectives clear, but so are you.
There was a period when I was leading a large global team and had three kids at home under 2 ½ (twins). It wasn’t easy. Pretending otherwise would have been inauthentic and would have denied me the opportunity to model the kind of culture and commitment I believed would allow us to do extraordinary work, and win. Seeing my kids before they went to bed meant leaving the office earlier than I had in the past. I let everyone know that was going to happen, and why. I also let them know that when they saw me online catching up late in the evenings – it didn’t mean I expected an immediate response. I made clear that taking care of my family was important to me – but so was taking care of our collective well-being and the priorities we’d set together. As Mike Robbins puts it, “authenticity is honesty without self-righteousness, plus vulnerability. That combination liberates people to stop performing and start contributing”. When people know who you are and where you stand, they don’t need to spend time managing you. They can manage the work.
Allowing yourself to be truly known is a gift to your organization’s culture. If you share your own mistakes, personally and professionally, and ask for help, you make it safe for others to raise issues before they become crises. When you create rituals of celebration and opportunities for sharing and candor, you build a culture that rewards that way of getting work done. When you allow people to understand the people and passions you care about outside of work, in addition to the customers and team members you’re focused on, you signal your belief that leadership is about serving the team, not yourself. Being open about what you value holistically encourages your team to invest in building the culture they want to live and work in. In highly competitive talent environments, a thriving culture that allows people to achieve and grow, sustainably and with joy and purpose, is a real competitive advantage – both in good times and during the inevitable challenges that arise.
For some, these ideas can feel uncomfortable. We’re not all wired similarly and what’s ideal for one leader feels inauthentic for another. The point here is to be a consistently understandable person whose behaviors match your stated values. Start practically, with tools that allow your team to hold you accountable. Try writing your own leadership mission statement or promise. “Here’s who I am, Here’s what I care about, Here’s what you can count on from me.” Work with your team to create a lens through which you will look at the way you operate together, what your commitments are to each other, and how you’ll build and maintain a thriving culture. Then use that lens for everything from meeting frequency to hiring. Make time to truly know your team, as you make it possible for them to know you. For me, this has meant so much learning, on endless topics, from the brilliant, creative, deeply interesting people I’ve had the honor of working with. Finally, if you believe that voracious curiosity is a determining success factor (as I do) – actively seek out diverse perspectives and newer voices, proving that difference is an asset not a risk. Be. Yourself. Leaders come in infinite types and flavors. The unlock is not in conforming to one particular model, but instead in bringing your unique humanity to work.
