How to learn to lead and lead to learn

I will always remember February 11, 2016. It was a day when my career was transformed profoundly. It was the day I stopped coding.

I had been with SAS for 14 years, and writing code – lots of code – had always been a principal ingredient of my work. Even as a vice president, leading the team that built the engine of SAS? Viya?, I enjoyed slinging hundreds of lines of C code per day.

But the growing responsibilities as a company executive, culminating in the role of chief technology officer later that year, made me realize the demands of my role could not be balanced with my desire to code. I had to put my team and the organization first. As a lifelong learner, I had to surrender something I love, coding, and embrace the change as an opportunity to learn, grow, serve and lead the organization.

Leadership is not appointed or derived from a title.

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Leadership is not synonymous with management. Many managers are poor leaders, and many individual contributors help lead our company. A manager is someone you work for; a leader is someone you follow. The leader I strive to be is someone you follow with your heart.

There is no checklist or simple recipe for becoming a leader, and I am still learning myself. But here are four things that helped me transition from a primarily technical employee with some leadership responsibilities to a companywide leader of technology and innovation.

1.     Lead through learning

A recent article in Harvard Business Review distilled so brilliantly what I have always felt and experienced firsthand: Leading is a learning exercise.

Nobody is born a leader. Leadership is learned and earned. You set challenging goals, find possibilities and deliberately experiment. Then you reflect, glean insights and capitalize on the learning opportunity.

Leadership skills can be learned and practiced systematically. Failure does not mean you are not cut out for the job; it means you have not yet developed – learned – the necessary skills. Rather than comparing yourself against others, challenge yourself to be better today than you were two months ago. Do not dwell on what you are good at; ask yourself whether you are learning something right now.

In the last year as CTO, I have learned a lot about the organization. But I have learned a lot more about myself.

Nobody is born a leader. Leadership is learned and earned.

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2.     Lead through helping others grow

While I was coding like a fiend, my accomplishments were evident in the quality, capabilities and performance of my code. I could look at my code and think, “That was me; I did that!” Today, my success is not derived from the strength of my code; it is derived from the strength of the R&D teams. I celebrate their accomplishments with them, and I own their failures for them. It is not about me, it is about what we can accomplish together.

Everyone should have a growth mindset. Energy should not be invested in retaining your job. It should be invested in growing out of it. Managers should have this focus for their teams. And teams should have this outlook for others. Anyone can play a role in helping others grow, even just by spending a few extra minutes to help a coworker.

Frequently, I reach into the R&D organization and give employees assignments on my behalf or on behalf of the executive leadership team. These are not opportunities to meddle and micromanage; these are growth opportunities to empower and be impressed.

My success is not derived from the strength of my code; it is derived from the strength of the R&D teams.

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3.     Lead through communicating well

It goes without saying that communicating from a leadership position is important. For employees to follow with their heart, you have to explain what is in yours and why that matters for the organization. You have to align around a common purpose and mission.

But you do not just communicate with written words. You communicate with body language, emails and how you show up in meetings. You communicate by setting goals and expectations. You communicate by taking time to dig into a problem. You communicate through listening.

Communications is another opportunity to experiment and capitalize on the learning opportunity. I am experimenting with finding the best communication channels. I send emails to my team regularly, hold quarterly town halls and meet with employees in offices around the world to hear their questions and ideas. This year, I started creating monthly podcasts to help employees across the company understand what we are doing in areas like artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things.

I have also started to become more active on LinkedIn and Twitter. It gives me the opportunity to connect with people worldwide, show what SAS is about and, on occasion, show off pictures of my dog, Calvin.

4.     Lead through authenticity

The different roles and spheres of influence throughout my career changed my approach to interactions, management and communication. But it has never changed my core values: transparency, honesty, curiosity, humility and simplicity. You have to stay true to who you are. You have to stay human.

Whether I watch Ferrari take on Mercedes in the Formula One world championship, cruise on the Segway or sport a strong #sockgame, I want to demonstrate the importance of maintaining work-life balance. You need to keep your passions outside of work alive to stay grounded, keep the battery charged and stay inspired.

I am inspired by music. I listen to music every day, and I try to find time to play music every day. A day without music is a lost day. I am not an expert guitarist, but I get better every time I play and with every guitar lesson. As Michael O’Malley and William Baker point out in Every Leader Is an Artist:

“When someone tries, something magnificent happens: even the clumsiest improve. People really do get better if they have in their minds […] the types of leaders they wish to be.”

I am continuing to learn how to be an effective Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer, head of R&D and leader for this organization. I am in learning mode and truly, something magnificent is happening.

And if you stay true to who you are, if you are passionate and authentic, and if you continue to learn and try new things, you are going to rock the world, no matter what you do. 

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