Lead from the back
A true leader is the one that helps everyone on the team deliver it’s best. It’s the last to speak, the first to apologize and the first one to assume blame.
Working on a multicultural company a while ago, I had the chance to work with quite a mix of cultures, some Indian, some Israeli, Spanish, Filipino, Argentinian, Bangalore, Australian and Brazilians programmers. All very good at something and bad at something else. Some inexperienced, some had seen quite a lot more stuff than I. The constant was the Ego.
Everyone trying to prove themselves better than the others, each one having their own opinion and wanting to show their own capacities but too few really interested in making the team work.
As soon as I got to the team I realized that the potential was amazing but the environment was BAD. Fights, people leaving mid-meetings, feelings being hurt, and code not being delivered. The problem? Too many leaders with no followers.
My first act was to talk to some of them, try to understand what makes them tick and soon became clear that to be the leader was something quite important to everyone there.
My first take is: Let others speak. More information you have, better placed you are in your own argument. Most of the time people were fighting to speak, to take the pencils and draw their ideas on the board. Wrong: Do listen. A true leader sometimes doesn’t need to speak at all. Ask questions, put yourself into the other person’s shoes and try to cope with their ideas. In order to be able to challenge an Idea, you should own it, know about it as if it was your own.
When you listen, people feel less threatened. They tend to open themselves and most of the time, they can contribute a lot to each others ideas. When everyone is able to contribute to the “shared pool of knowledge” they feel included and tend to help the team evolve on the right direction.
As each culture deals differently with professional conversations, its important to spend a good amount of time trying to understand when someone is asking too many questions if its ignorance or he or she is just from a culture that requires more context to accept the decision. A leader needs to smother the cultural differences amongst team members, help them be aware of each others differences and help them improve.
At the end, what every employer seeks are professionals able to help each other grow, improve both on the technical and behavioural sides. A team member able to help others focus on something else other than their own egos and pride is a precious resource, as it can help abolish the “us vs them” problem that most of the software development companies face today.
To be a good leader, is to be a good servant.
Books to read: The Servant, Crucial Conversations, The culture map and Extreme Ownership
