Leadership Role Needs

Leadership is always a hot discussion topic in spite of having a lot of theories and material available on it. There are different views, different opinions, and different theories, still organizations are struggling having the right leadership in place.. Every research, every survey done internally and externally has some views on the leadership. On the other hand, if you search “thought leaders” on LinkedIn, you will get millions of profiles which list leadership and thought leaders as a strength of those individuals. This is a contradiction.

Leadership is a behaviour. Leadership has to be proved in the organization, then only it gets the recognition. However, one of the flaws one can say is that leadership is subjective, it totally depends upon the organizational context. That’s why employees and managers working in MNCs are not interested in working in Indian companies and vice versa. In both organizations leadership behaviour expectations are different. The great leader in one company may be a failure in another company. However, a true leader is someone who is flexible, resilient, adaptable and adjusts his/her wavelength with any type of culture and atmosphere.

I would like to make the leadership simple for you if you are managing a team directly or indirectly.

In any organization, there are three overlapping needs that have to be focused by the leader. Fulfilling these needs is the right recipe of leadership. 

Task Needs: These needs are mainly related to the results leader and his/her function needs to achieve. This is a typical management function where you are expected to set up targets, define workflow, define the task, planning, briefing, controlling, etc. but moreover aligning the team with a larger purpose.

Team Needs: to achieve the task, you have to build and maintain the team. You need to identify the right talent which is diverse in your team. Your team needs to be cohesive but still diverse and should be able to work together.

Individual Needs: Here you have to understand the individual needs, their aspirations, motivation. It is good to understand what are the driving forces that are motivating employees to come to the job every day, what are their development plans and how they can contribute to achieve the tasks.  

Leadership is not a rocket science, you have to prepare your right recipe which can be cooked whenever required, but sometimes you also need to change it as per the context and create new one. You have to add other dimensions in the recipe as and when required. Your leadership behaviours are spices that make the recipe best to consume. 

(Opinions are purely personal & does not represent my organizations, current or past) 

Author's book are available on Amazon, Flipkart, Pothi and BookGanga 

How do you know that you are ready for the next leadership role?

At a certain point of career, everybody aspires to take a leadership role. Most of the time, employees think that by getting a certain high-level title, they are in a leadership role. Employees build up functional knowledge, confident self-image about their capabilities to handle the higher role. They start thinking that now they are eligible for the promotion and higher roles. 

"However, leadership is not about the title, designation, etc, it is about the role, influence, executive presence etc. It is also leading others, inspiring for the results." 

What are those indications that you are ready for the leadership roles? 

This needs strong insight and self-reflection. You need to take the regular inventories of your skills and competencies. There are some indications which you can rely on.

Following are some indications about your readiness to the next management level role. 

• You think beyond your job: In the current role, employees focus on what they need to do and perform well. However, it is very important you understand how your boss and senior leaders think. You make your job interesting, go beyond your routine and you think like one level above always. You think beyond the boundaries of your task and take a holistic view and impact of your actions on others. 
• You think beyond yourself:  You don’t think about yourself. You may have some personal aspirations, but that doesn’t mean that you should be selfish. You are regularly thinking about other people and how your actions impact them. You start believing in teamwork; you start supporting team members. You connect with the right people and create allies within the organization. 
• Job is not routine for you anymore: The task is not only the task for you. It is also not the job; you demonstrate the passion. Work happens automatically for you. Work is not 9.00 to 5.00 routine for you now. Now you enjoy being at the office. The clock is there to help you manage your calendar, not to determine what time you leave. Your passion and enjoyment for the work you are doing is contagious and others can count on you because of your work ethic and positivity.
• You take constant feedback: You are open to take the critical feedback and you don’t feel bad about you. While listening to the feedback you don’t become defensive. You think about it and try to improve on the feedback given by people. In fact, you set up a mechanism to get the feedback and make your development plans accordingly.
• People speak good about you: In your absence, people recognize your achievements, speak about you nicely. This is because they are benefited because of your work, decisions etc. 
• Your presence makes the difference: When you are in the office, your presence is felt. You give positive vibes and people feel good when they speak with you. They get inspired. You give them confidence & offer support. Juniors ask your suggestions and guidance. Leaders and managers in your organization suggest your name for new projects or assignments.
• You try to excel and ready to learn: You enjoy learning new things, you enjoy experimenting, you make improvement proposals to your manager. You not only do your job great but improve the way of working. You are ahead from your peers. your managers always ask your opinion than others because you keep yourself updated. You choose reading books, listening podcast over watching stupid TV shows & movies. You proactively seek help from others & mentors.

"After realizing that you are ready for the next role, think about how you can work to achieve your goal. Your manager and organization should feel comfortable to promote you."

However, it totally depends upon the opportunities available within the organization. Work on a plan, always have a direct discussion with Manager and HR. Be visible in the organization on different forums. Take the opportunity to ask questions to the leadership team, express your ideas during meetings. Develop a network with the right people. Still it will not be enough, finally it is creating the credibility within the organization.    

(Opinions are purely personal & does not represent my organization)

Please read the print replica of my latest book written for leaders on amazon kindle; Vitality in Human Resource