Multiplied ripple effect – Motion is most effective when boosted from multiple perspectives. When teams manage to agree on a common target and find ways to push forward from their own individual standpoint, mountains can be moved.
Multiplied ripple effect – Motion is most effective when boosted from multiple perspectives. When teams manage to agree on a common target and find ways to push forward from their own individual standpoint, mountains can be moved.

Reflection paper written during my MBA at the University of St. Gallen, on the question "Why should anyone be led by you?"

"… these new ways of acting will slowly change the way you think about your work and yourself, giving you a fresh material for reflection and urging you on to find more meaningful ways of leading at work and in your life…" (Ibarra, 2015, S. 190)

I am grateful that during my career I was fortunate to be led by great mentors who recognized my strengths and created paths that maximized my individual growth. When I was asked to step up into a leadership position for nineteen employees, I was surprised. I asked myself the very same question: "Why should anyone be led by me?" After talking to one of my mentors and previous leads, this question transformed into "Which of my abilities and values will help my team? What challenges do we face?", and "How could attainable objectives look like?" I wanted to provide them with a clear purpose that would support and motivate everyone to contribute proactively.

In hindsight, the biggest value I provided was none of my skills but a drive of seeking understanding in the greater context. Problems and their underlying opportunities excite me, and the human dedication to creating fascinates me. Inspirational leaders like Walt Disney, Steve Jobs, and Patrisse Cullors showed us how dreams can become realities when being put into the hands of people that can reshape and transform them into reality. Purpose, growth, autonomy, and a sense of togetherness are the key components for such an environment to flourish, and the main reason why I want to provide a motivating purpose, vision, and structures through leadership.

This type of leadership can work in situations of realignment as in my prior job. Through the lens of Watkins's "STARS Situations", uncoined environments like Start-Ups are more expedient for this leadership type. (Watkins, 2008) Modern companies like Google understand the potential of these leadership structures and aim to implement similar structures of interdependency and cross-functional collaboration by following the "team-of-teams" model. (William F. Meehan III, 2018) The leadership type required for these positions matches the combination of my primary leadership fallback style of a visionary (MVPI and HDS) and my secondary style of a relationship builder (HPI). Based on the Hogan assessment and my own experience I am most effective in leading employees who share similar values and are aspired by the work they do. They are motivated by empathy and emotion and enjoy cross-functional collaborations on an eye level.

One of the leadership-derailers that I want to work on is linked to my high scores in sociability and interpersonal, and average score in ambition. This combination can lead to being perceived as a weak personality and ineffective communicator. To avoid this threat, I will reflect and practice my messaging and find allies that provide feedback and support. The HDS revealed that in situations of stress, I tend to lose my balanced and structured temper, and behave in a reactive un-reflected way. This creates a risk of losing the trust and confidence of the team. I want to increase my awareness of body signs that show up when stress levels arise to counterbalance them using the box-briefing technique. If I can minimize the impact of my derailers on my leadership style, I can grow into an ambidextrous leader performing in environments of peace and stress equally well. (Birkshaw, 2016)

References