Outcomes and qualities of a successful mct-ian

What is the Mission Control Team (MCT)?

Otherwise known as the MCT, we deliver business value across several business functions – Talent Recruitment, Employee Welfare, Social Media, Marketing, General Business Administration etc. 

We operate as a small cross-functional Agile team – prioritising continuous learning and being adaptable to changes in our environment. Each member of the team is expected to help run things like they own it from day 1 (with support from the team of course).

As a team and a business unit, we have come a long way. Let me give you an insight into our journey – what we’ve learnt, what we aim to achieve and how we make it all work!

How it all started…

When the MCT was first created, our sole purpose was to recruit new Mavericks. Our original name was, to nobody's surprise, the "Hiring Team". Our main objective was in processing & filtering out candidates to find new Mavericks. 

But as our company grew, we found more opportunities to grow and develop ourselves. We wanted to deliver more value to our Mavericks, clients and the wider community. Thus, our ‘Hiring Team’ members started diversifying into different aspects of our business operations that would help improve our Mavericks’ welfare, livelihoods, career prospects and more. Our career development is always a priority in Mavericks.  

Our responsibilities and value proposition are constantly evolving and grew to what it is today. Today, the MCT is no longer just about hiring. We work hard to improve the lives of our people and show the world what being a Maverick is all about. 

As our team evolved, so did the capabilities of each individual in the team. And, in line with our company’s goal of giving back to the community, MCT has become a training ground for local talent to become Maverick Leaders. 

As a cross functional team, MCT is in a unique position to get end to end operational exposure to how successful business is run with a strong outcome based focus.  Our programme’s goal is to expose future Maverick leaders to various internal business functions and enable them to develop a foundational understanding of how various parts of an organisation work together. We also ensure that each member is equipped with performance management skills so that they can lead and manage teams or projects of their own. Mavericks is a great place to jumpstart one’s career, and we wanted to attract the BEST!  We started to invest more into improving our Social Media outreach and overall brand marketing to make our name stand out from the rest. We wanted more people to see our success and come to think of Mavericks as a place that they want to grow in.

The programme’s success (so far!)

Contrary to what you might think, prior experience or knowledge in HR/business functions is not a pre-requisite to our programme’s success! 

Over the years, we’ve had many successes in training local talent ranging from A-level graduates, NS men, mid-career changers, university / poly undergraduates and graduates. These individuals also came from a range of expertise like sociology, literature, biomedicine, real estate, business admin etc. Since completing the programme, many of our Mavericks have moved ahead in their own careers, whether it’s to lead an entire business unit, contribute to business strategy development or something bigger. 

But this begs the question: If having a background in business is not necessary, what skills or competencies are needed to succeed/become a Maverick Leader?

The REAL prerequisites

The 3 key ingredients to succeed in the MCT and as a future leader are:

1. Being Proactive, Hungry to Learn, Eager to Grow 

2. Focus on Business Value 

3. Being able to deliver High Quality and Meaningful work Consistently

Being Proactive, Hungry to Learn and Eager to Grow

I often hear candidates or classmates around me say “I’ll wait till someone tells me what to do” “I just need to do XX, someone else will figure out the rest”. Unfortunately this mindset and attitude creates an invisible ceiling for your own growth. Over time, you limit yourself to what you know/are comfortable with and move into a ‘cruise control’ mode. 

To be successful as a leader, it all starts from one’s mindset and attitude. Be curious and think critically instead of blindly following the crowd. Be disciplined and honest with yourself to accurately stocktake your progress and realistically set targets or goals for yourself to improve. 

Be open and take charge of your own learning. This means standing up from your desk and asking a question, volunteering for a brand new task and getting guidance to start on the right foot, or even simply telling people that you don’t know! Because once you reach out and put yourself in a position to receive help, you’ll find that knowing where to go and how to get there seems a little easier.

Focusing on Business Value

While the matter of 'HOW' can differ from individual to individual, we've found that what works is getting a precise understanding of the task at hand - WHAT are we doing, WHO is this for, WHY is this important, WHEN do we do it, WHERE is this needed? 

Once you understand the task, figuring out what to do next can be pretty challenging. Especially when you have to now consider how 1 small change affects your neighbour’s task or even the entire environment. We found that developing Systems Thinking makes this maze seem slightly easier to navigate. 

Systems Thinking is a method to understand how individual components layer and interact with each other, to form the big picture. Better clarity on dependencies and relationships helps one better anticipate intended (or unintended) consequences. This puts us in a better position to problem solve in a complex environment. (Read more about Systems Thinking here!)

To become a future leader – doing tasks entirely by rote/instructed steps is not going to cut it. Our programme challenges participants to pick up new tasks and ‘Run it like you own it’. Because being put in the driver’s seat means that now YOU have to call the shots. 

“If I do this, what will happen to A? If B is affected, by how much? Is this change worth it?” are common questions that will start popping up, inadvertently, you are practicing Systems Thinking! The difference here is that once you start consciously applying Systems Thinking, you’ll find that big problems seem more manageable, invisible constraints become more visible and obvious. And as you collect small wins along the way, you grow more expertise in the subject area and make decisions more confidently! 

Now when you’re in the driver’s seat, your recommendations have greater accuracy and you are more confident in yourself. In the event that your solution doesn’t work, you’re able to pivot quickly and try another solution.

Delivering High Quality + Meaningful work, Consistently

Once you are clear of the end goal and the expected outcome, the next challenge is being able to deliver. Not just submitting the bare minimum and ticking it off your to do list, but actually delivering VALUE that improves your end user’s experience. 

As professionals, we get put into new and uncertain situations all the time. A crucial skill to make the seemingly impossible slightly more possible is by being able to learn and adapt effectively and efficiently.

Source: Mavericks Consulting

A key philosophy in Agile is to ‘Fail Fast and Learn Fast’. A similar concept to how we write proposals and get approval before starting on a project. The focus here is working in small iterations, and getting feedback along the way to validate what’s been done so far. 

Sure there may be some back & forth at first, slight re-work. But it’s better to re-work an idea than to re-work an entire project. Ensuring that you and your stakeholders are aligned EARLY means that as the project progresses, both parties have greater assurance and confidence in the end product. 

At the end of the day/programme

Once the above is achieved, we now have a confident individual with real skills and knowledge to contribute to any team or industry they choose to join. Their lived experience also makes them a good mentor and role model for others to follow, a.k.a A Good Leader. 

Hopefully this article shed more light on what the MCT and our programme is all about. Now my question to you is: Do you have what it takes to be a Maverick? 

P.S.: Interested but want a better idea of what to expect? 

You’re in luck! My lovely teammates have written articles that offer a glimpse into what life as a trainee in our programme looks like. Stay tuned to our Socials in the coming weeks! 😆