Being A Leader - Growth Over 365 Days

simpler days

Maybe it was silly on my part, but when I signed my first job offer fresh out of university, I didn’t realise the magnitude of the role I had agreed to take on. 

In my mind, leadership was a glorified role and title. Omnipresent in the corporate world for its prestige and status and coveted by many who saw it as a sure-fire indication of lifelong career success. Most pertinently, it was light-years away for someone of my status (Fresh Grad, New to The Corporate World, Young).

In what was a surprisingly emotional first day back at work for me, I stepped back into a space both familiar and new. Mavericks was where I’d completed an internship part-time as I’d worked on my final year thesis to graduate from university. My days were jam-packed, an exhilarating mix of literature and work. I remember attending morning classes, sitting through lectures on Byron, Keats, Austen and then making a mad dash up a tremendous flight of stairs behind my faculty building back to my dormitory room, where I’d begin work for Mavericks, hopping on meetings with my team or attending a training session with my trainers. 

Work and school bled together so much that the first time I ever met my new roommate, I was rushing to make it for a candidate interview. I burst into the room, and found her and her family dusting down her side of the room. I was curious to meet the girl I’d spend the rest of my final year bunking with, but curbed the curiosity, and after some quick apologies to the family, sat for the interview. Despite my protests, her family was kind enough to wait outside the room to give me some space. The call went well, and we got acquainted right after. She and I became fast friends. 

Such was the life I’d grown to expect at Mavericks. Challenging, yet thrilling. Right before the start of my break, I bade goodbye to the familiar faces I’d spent many happy intern days with, knowing I’d miss the vibrancy of being in a fast-paced space and also the rigour that came with a demanding but guided internship journey. In what I now realise was a naive notion, I expected my return to spell the same, just in a full-time capacity.

I quickly realised that wasn’t the case. In my absence (I’d taken a month-long sabbatical), almost the entire team that I’d worked with previously as an intern had moved on, taking their learnings from their time at Mavericks with them. With the support of the remaining members of my (now much leaner) team, I started my first foray into work as a more senior Maverick. 

early days

Soon, new members began to join the team. Some were more eager than others to kickstart their journey with the team, but I was fast-realising that the expectation was still the same. I needed to be someone they could turn to for guidance and help. 

I didn’t realise it then, but this was a catalyst moment for me. All along I’d known I was responsible for keeping my own boat afloat, and I’d taken my liberties with that freedom, floating along with the current if that suited me, or exploring uncharted waters if that interested me. At times, if I strayed too far from the course, my teammates would offer a lifeline, or anchor me, whether I knew it then or retrospectively. 

Now, I had to step up to the plate for others. While the early days were tumultuous (for me, and undoubtedly for the trainees who bore the brunt of my inexperienced training, but were ever so patient with me), in many ways, it’s gotten easier and better. 

Reflecting back on what’s been a long, but fulfilling year, I’m relieved to see that what once felt insurmountable is now behind me. While there are still challenges ahead, this chance to retrospect has helped me to flesh out what I’ve now come to recognise as my mainstays in my leadership journey.

mayday  

Knowing what I knew, I initially made the mistake of being too eager to jump the gun. Early on, with every trainee’s slip-up, I pounced at every opportunity to right what I thought was clearly wrong. Sometimes, anticipating impending doom, I’d even step in before the storm hit. 

I grew to dislike the version of myself I was at work. I was frustrated because everything kept going wrong. Worst still, trainees were getting frustrated too because they recognised what needed to be done but could never quite seem to replicate it for themselves without my hovering. 

A couple months into my leadership journey, I started listening to “The Mel Robbins Podcast”. I’d heard a short soundbite of her explaining the “Let Them Theory” and it piqued my interest. Cheeky and surprisingly simple, Mel Robbins advocated for the mindset of letting others do what they want in order to protect one’s personal peace and (ironically), regain control. 

Originally intending to use the theory as a means to curb my ever growing habit of nagging others, I was pleasantly surprised to find it resonated with what I’d often heard my mentor suggest. In sync-ups where I would recount the difficulties I was facing in hopes that she would dispense upon me some immediate elixir to the problem, oftentimes her only response would be, “Let’s just wait and see what happens”. 

today

In time, I would come to marry this observational approach with getting the trainee to articulate their thought processes. As part of my own training at Mavericks, I’d begun to realise that what stuck was not the elaborate step-by-step of procedure spelled out in full and delivered to me, but the gradual building of a house of processes. Built on knowledge, cemented by understanding and finished with practice. 

I later put a name to the understanding: Systems Thinking. The recognition that every action within your system has a ripple effect on other systems is the hallmark of every successful Maverick.

Consequently, when speaking with trainees, I’ve found it best to encourage them to think for themselves. No amount of info-dumping has proven more useful than if I were to just sit with them and provide a helpful question at a timely moment. By building their understanding with them, and not for them, trainees are empowered to have a structure to lean their once wobbly knowledge on. In time, they develop their ability to create this organisation on their own. 

Sometimes I feel more like a doctor at work, gathering symptoms of my patient through daily observations and also their sharings during our regular check-ins. In these sessions, some “patients” are wide-eyed and fresh-faced. They're invigorated by the advice offered, eager for some remedy to the pains they’ve been facing. Others are aware that they’re struggling, but are resistant to taking the tedious, but necessary steps towards a cure. It’s exactly the kind of patients I’d imagine doctors to deal with. The patient who seeks preemptive treatment to prevent worse symptoms down the line, and the patient who goes to the doctor because they aren’t feeling well, but refuses to accept the diagnosis in rejection of the long road to recovery ahead. 

In both instances, what I’ve come to realise is that my role as their trainer remains unchanged. Whether or not they’re willing to lean into the support, to be an effective leader is to be able to tailor my approach to the individual. If the trainee is lacking organisation, how can I offer them structure? If the trainee needs a self-esteem boost, how can I create an opportunity for them to celebrate small wins? If the trainee is set in their ways, how can I redirect them to what matters most? Recognising the symptoms and offering a suitable recommendation is something I’m still gradually picking up on. But what I’ve recognised is that it’s never so much about me, but more about them. 

What helps most in these instances is patience and the ability to be direct. Unfortunately, I do well with the former, but fare poorer with the latter. As part of Mavericks’ strong feedback culture, learning to deliver direct feedback is something I’ve definitely had to work on. I’ve learnt that there’s a marked difference in saying “Well done!” in recognition of stellar work, and offering the same compliment in recognition of effort without results. One is a reward and kindness, while the other is kindness without reward. 

In the long run, not being able to offer constructive criticism and build an action plan for the way forward only serves to be more of a disservice to the trainee. What I’ve found works for me is to go into feedback sessions prepared with a plan that’s validated with others. During sessions, I ground my approach in the tried and true, offering SMART goals to those who need it, and offering a chance to perform a Retrospective to those who just need a moment to sit and think. In every instance, I serve mostly as Facilitator, only stepping in as Advisor at the very end. 

I am grateful for what I recognise to be a rare opportunity for accelerated personal growth. In my time at Mavericks, I carry the words of my alma mater in my heart: to care, to serve and to lead. The torch that was passed on to me will not stop here. While I still have a lot to learn on my leadership journey, my promise to myself is to not shy away from being a leader in whatever capacity I am able and for however long I prove capable. 

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“A leader is best when people barely know he exists, when his work is done, his aim fulfilled, they will

say: we did it ourselves.”

— Lao Tzu, Chinese philosopher