What I covered in my recent leadership talk for tech leaders
I recently had the privilege of presenting on effective leadership to an audience of tech leaders at an international finance & investment organization.
Here’s a summary of what we covered.
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Authentic leadership is a gateway to other valuable team benefits.
Authentic leadership has a network effect: A leader who shows up authentically gives their team the license and confidence to do the same; in turn, the team gives their own subteams and peers confidence; and so on, contributing to a culture of authenticity.
Authentic leadership is a powerful tool for inclusivity and diversity: When leaders fosters a culture of authenticity, they set a dynamic that empowers people of all different backgrounds and experiences to have a voice.
Authentic leadership builds trust: We’re all quite adept at sensing when people are insincere; we tend not to trust those people. Same goes for inauthentic leaders. Nobody trusts them, and as a result, they’re less effective.
Trust is critical to developing strong teams.
Leaders can build trust by establishing personal connections: If you see the people on your team as people, they won’t feel like cogs in a machine. Nobody likes to feel like a cog in a machine.
Trust supercharges productivity: A team built on a foundation of trust is able to connect on a deeper level with each other. This connection fosters collaboration, which leads to better results.
Empathy and good communication are key ingredients for building trust: The ability to understand and connect with team members’ experiences and perspectives unlocks trust.
As a leader, good communication is as much—if not more—about listening as it is about speaking.
Don’t underestimate the power of communication norms: Expectations around listening (and speaking) can either mitigate or enhance biases and power dynamics. Leaders can play a significant role in setting these expectations—and therefore in mitigating or enhancing biases and power dynamics.
A leader’s poor listening can cost their team a great idea: Great ideas come in all shapes and sizes. But leaders can’t enable or sponsor great ideas if they don’t hear them in the first place.
Empathy and critical thinking are fundamental to good listening: Think about a speaker’s experience. Is the speaker nervous? Is there a language barrier? Is the speaker a member of a marginalized group? In addition, it’s important to decouple the merit of an idea from the skills of the speaker. These steps unlock inclusivity and professional growth opportunities, among other things.
Establishing a common purpose for a team or working group can unleash productivity.
Purpose leads to alignment: Defining a purpose helps ensure that everyone rows in the same direction.
Purpose is empowering: Defining a purpose provides clarity to teams around what they are working toward. In turn, this clarity grants a sense of agency and allows for increased autonomy—both of which unlock engagement and productivity.
Purpose provides meaning: Defining a purpose allows teams to more easily make a connection between their efforts and impact. This fosters a sense of meaningful contribution.
Investing in self-care as a leader is a must.
Self-care refills an empty tank: Leadership involves a lot of giving. So it’s incredibly important to refuel—or else risk burnout. And when leaders burnout, everyone loses: the leader, their team, and their organization.
Self-care can take unexpected forms: One often overlooked self-care method is learning. Ways to incorporate learning into your routine include formally scheduling time in your calendar; listening to industry podcasts while doing chores; and setting up coffees with colleagues who have expertise complementary to yours.
Self-care includes having self-empathy: Good mentors can help foster self-empathy. In sharing their advice, perspectives, and reflections, they’ll demonstrate to you that they’re human—just like you—and provide opportunities to let down your guard and be vulnerable.