Leadership... Just a personal view on what seems to be Rocket Science

There is a lot of talk about Leadership currently. While some seem to struggle with the topic it comes relatively naturally to others. So is it something we have to learn or we have to "just" have?

Well, I have just come out of a role where any leadership expert would have probably had a magnificent raw model "How NOT" to do it. Just to manage expectations: If you are looking for the holy grail of wisdom in this article you might be better of somewhere else but experience, I have learnt, can actually facilitate the access to this subject. So let's try to get some sense into the Leadership "Damocles' sword", dangling above our heads.

I stumbled across a post by Tom Hunt and noticed an answer coming Mohamed Azhar.

Thinking about what I had just experienced during the last year and about the points Mohamed made, I decided to put this down to "screen".

What is it that makes Leadership so complicated?

Nothing really! It is actually common sense and most of you will probably think "No Way! That is ridiculous! I would never do that.

So let's get into this!

I was working as a Sales & Marketing Director / Head of EMEA for a Group of industries. We dealt with Pharma, Cosmetics, Beauty, Fashion, e-commerce and it was even set to raise an e-mobility segment. All split up into different companies under one large umbrella.

When you read the JD, "Pinky and the Brain" jumped to mind but they needed a "Swiss Army Pocket knife", I am a Swiss Army Pocket knife. Seemed to be a match.

After a few days on the Job, I got a fraction of the picture I was dealing with here.

Several, very different characters.

So that was the good news. A team differently faceted, different working styles and approaches.

The businesses were split up and each run by a different MD.

MD one: Female, very experienced, a bit of a laissez-faire approach but when it came to knowledge transfer the lady was amazing and could give you the executive summary of a competitor in 15 minutes. ( In short: She knew just about everything about the field)

MD two: allegedly former Para, allegedly consulted and or owned more than 400 companies, came out of nowhere and quite authoritarian,

Coming from my background my thoughts were:" Well this can be a case of opposites attract or this thing is going to go really wrong!"

While MD one left most of the leadership to me due to experience etc. it was clearly visible that MD two was a complete micro manager.

Now, don't get me wrong but micromanagement is the best known "killer" of everything in a business, even at home in private life if you ask me. This gentleman however, took it to the next level.

While our branches of the industry group were constantly exchanging and giving heads-up, developing budgets and cross-communicating across the different companies and budgets, this part of the business locked themselves away. Physically.

There was no exchange, no information, no nothing and in a later dialogue I was told that he had instructed everyone of his team never to talk to any of us.

A few days later he approached one of my team members with the words:" You are really lucky!"

I was told, obviously and admitted that I didn't know what that meant.

Still being of the opinion that this had been some mishap or misunderstanding I recommended to just approach him and ask what he meant.

A few days later the team member came up to me again and just said:" He just repeated the phrase and told me to work it out myself!"

Now, here goes another bad example for leadership. Someone makes a mistake, someone underperforms and all you have for them is "You are lucky!"? Sorry, in my books that is a bit "thin"!

As we were physically separated, there was no communication between the companies and the lady was not reason for any worries I told her to ignore it and if it happened again to inform me. We sat down and I asked her how she wanted to deal with the matter but we both agreed that it was something as interesting as yesterdays newspaper.

This was a mistake from my side because I didn't think much of it and I should have given her more support because me not doing anything meant that "his lordship" thought he could go at it again.

Towards me he was very careful and it was only after a few weeks were I had pointed out that a few things were lagging behind and if anyone needed some help I'd be happy to jump in.

Suddenly his verbal erotica changed and he told me: "You are highly professional but you are working with "low hanging fruit!"

Gossip and backstabbing! My favourites.

This continued right through to harassment within the first 3 months and when talking to the team who were sending all the alarm signals: "Working from home today. I have the flu but I will work from home. My xyz died and I have to attend the funeral. I have a doctor's appointment. The trains were on strike."

So I drummed them all together in a VC ( I let the in person meeting follow later) and asked them what on earth was going on? Most important: IS IT ME? How can I improve and be more supportive?

It turned out during that meeting that not only had there been further disrespectful comments about next to everybody but there were also cases of harassment in my absence (Hence the closed doors! Now I got that) Extreme pressure and daily threats regarding loss of job.

When pieces of work were presented they were rubbish or the substance that hits the fan, the team member was not worth the money etc.

I set it quite straight that I was happy and satisfied with the team performance and our MD agreed. As a matter of fact, we were way ahead of the other businesses and that was probably the main issue.

Comparative competitiveness! ( Love it!)

Now, in Pharma to enter the market with a new substance can be a bit more time consuming than in cosmetics, beauty or retail, fashion or e-mobility.

So actually the other business was on a good way. Due to the MD pressurising al the time they fell even further behind than they thought they were while our team just clogged on.

I had told my team that any judgement on their work from that side of the company had no importance nor relevance at all.

Should there be complaints or unclear topics they should be addressed to me.

That never happened by the way.

So the MD number two had to think of something else and came up with the brilliant strategy of: Mistake uncovering! (Have I mentioned? I love that one too!)

He started reporting to global HQ that we were to slow and wasting time on research more than pushing the products. We did market, product, target group, consumer research but as I am a great fan of data grabbing and having a smooth entrance to the markets, they were reasonably long which the data we presented to HQ reflected and was highly welcome.

Apart from that we had several products ready so were way ahead of the deadline.

So.. on our side all good.

When coming home in the evenings I asked myself more what's next? rather than: How will the launch go? Have we got everything together?

As all these strings hadn't worked, MD two pulled the next offensive: Intrigue. That one I actually don't like!

So I was told my MD had spilt comments about me and my teams etc. (No Harrods material is the one I remember.

Luckily we had very open communication channels and although certain documents were produced which looked a bit dodgy, we decided to pull this thing together. So he failed again.

It was again a team meeting where certain things had occurred where I told my team to completely ignore everything coming from that side and if there was anything relevant it would have to be brought and assessed to and by me and nobody else.

Because if someone wanted to get at my team they would have to get past me first.

You know that feeling when you get to the office on a Friday and you have this feeling:" There is something lingering!" You can't grasp it but there is this whiff of something and it is not necessarily fresh rolls and coffee.

Enter the office and immediately: Chris! Can we..., Chris! We need... Chris I have to...

Turns out that MD two had completely overstepped the line. (Well if the line is a s wide as the Pacific he would have crossed that as well.

Our HR director in tears and my departments an absolute shambles, my MD trembling with something in between fury and fear.

After everyone had calmed down a bit it turned out we had an "N-Word" case and worse but that's another story.

So there was no alternative to report MD two to HQ. Now, some of you might say: "You could have talked to him or there should have been a dialogue at C-level about the matter."

I had had it by now so a VC was called in. Everyone was heard and decisions were to be announced by the middle of the following week.

The decision was never communicated. There was a mere: I might have used that word in another context!"

That was it! Well, just for the record: When I say shit I rarely mean daisies.

In the end, you can probably tell, this was no place for me. So as new contracts were drawn up with far lesser attractive conditions and notice periods etc. needless to say that this place went nowhere.

So why this really long intro and where are Mohamed's 11 points?

Coming right now!

1) Feedback is essential—without it, you’re operating blind.

Feedback, even when negative, doesn't have to come across like a catastrophe.

Be helpful, offer assistance and support and don't "burn" the whole work. Just explain where information or other points might be missing and again... offer help.

2) Toxic cultures don’t just drive employees away; they drive customers away too.

It seems that some D- and C-Levels even have too much fun playing psychological games at work. I am not the ultimate leader but let me, if you are one of them, tell you one thing. You will get caught out and you will definitely be on the receiving end and have lost a lot and gained nothing.

3) Gossip isn’t just idle chatter; it’s a productivity killer.

It is a solid companion of point 2. Nobody minds you cracking a joke at a colleague. Just do it when they are present and make it funny, not humiliating. You see gossip is like treason. Everybody loves treason but everybody hates the traitor. So you are manoeuvring yourself into a very very bad position.

4) Overworking your team? Rewarding it just ensures more of it.

We clearly saw the benefit of not acting this way in the example. Overworked teams make more mistakes and are less productive.

5) Employee experience today is the customer experience tomorrow.

Very true! Especially while we are always banging the drum of CI and employee branding.

6) Micromanagement doesn’t boost productivity; it crushes it.

You will quite possibly find that the control freak is the weaker person in the room. This behaviour has been proof for inferiority complexes and weak performers for ages. Also, the micro manager probably has not done any work and feels a bad urge to present something, even if it is your work and not his.

7) Top talent will walk if they don’t see growth opportunities.

In the example above it was clear that one was so busy fighting with one's back to the wall that growth was the last thing one was thinking about. It doesn't always have to be a massive pay rise or some massive new title. Offer projects, research work, presentations to get your team known. Let them present in front of the board. It is their work after all and the CEO wants to see everybody not just the Top Management people who have filtered everything as to his or her gusto.

8) When your best people leave, don’t point fingers—look in the mirror.

And your best people are sometimes difficult, annoying, they push you to the limit, they may be snowflakes at times but you don't know what is going on in that head unless they tell you voluntarily. So work on trust and work on perspectives for them, work on their opportunities and even if the CEO raises an eyebrow. "This is Andrew! He did the research on this and he will now introduce himself and present HIS findings to you.

9) Train your managers. Then train them again.

And let them train you.

10) Consistency is key—no sudden moves.

Sometimes we need to act rapidly but do it in an informative way. Call them together and honestly tell them what the challenge is, ask for their thoughts and ideas. You may be able to sort this one out alone but with your team you might be able to sort it better. Ideally, you might sort it in a way it doesn't happen again.

11) Values matter. Reinforce them every single day.

I have 3: Respect, eye level, social competence. Until now I am fine with these but as stated above you might need a few more and you are learning all the time.

On leadership there are quite a few more but they all add up to the three up there.

Let's have a look.

1. Confidence: Have the big picture and at the same time show empathy. Don't try to simulate confidence though. Be a good coach where you can. It also shows confidence if you admit you don't know something by the way.
2. 1 leads straight to number 2. Transparency. Don't wear a mask or pretend you are someone else. The role you are then playing leads to inconsistent behaviour and makes you less predictable and therefore less credible.
3. Integrity. Every company has values it stands for. So should you ( have and stand) Your actions should reflect rather doing the right thing than wanting to be right.
4. Inspiration. If you can have and even better give inspiration then that is probably one of the most important factors in leadership. There is a catch though. If you don't have it you can't give it so it is an all in scenario. How do you get it? Love what you do and if it gets annoying, remind yourself what you are doing it for, even more, who you are doing it for. You need drive even if you are in a low phase. 2.50￡ left? Buys you a pot noodle. But your inspiration and your drive have to come from inside of you. Then you will also be able to transport this OOOOHMMMPH to your team.
5. Passion. Actually goes really well with inspiration as you need a certain Bang-Factor when you think about your work or ideally what you love doing. Now I agree that being passionate about an Aston Martin is easier than about a pair of household gloves but if you are passionate about what you do then you can celebrate the 5% market share your team and you got out of competitors just as much as a V12 sitting on your drive.
6. Innovation. There is no movement, no development without it. There are no solutions without it. No matter if you are in IT or Manufacturing or Services. If you don't innovate... well.... nothing happens.
7. Patience. Probably the most difficult one. Just imagine it like the "blinking game". Who blinks first? Sometimes things and people and time need to come together in one single space to make things take off. You need the patience to find out when that is and then deploy your innovation, inspiration, and drive.
8. Wonkiness. Someone called it that and it stuck with me. If you know your numbers and know which buttons to press you will almost always have an answer even if it only buys you a few seconds of time.
9. Stoicism. If someone or the market or a process throws something at you. Don't go emotional. You knew this was coming and you probably had some Zeta-version plan at the back of your mind how to solve it. Display that. Others will follow. There is nothing more important than a calm mind in a hot situation.
10. Authenticity. This goes hand in hand with transparency. If you put that mask on when you go to work, you will become a fragile construction of some person you are acting to be. Easy to spot with people who say: I am a completely different person at home. Are you?
11. Open Mind. No innovation without an open mind. I often sit back and ask myself: Imagine this were a white sheet. How would you go about it? But it also involves interpersonal skills. If you are open minded you will accept that opinions differ, people are different but that makes us unbelievably interesting. When I am stuck I ask my team and I get a waggon load of opinions, advice, ideas and of course a lot of "stick". Take it with a smile because you have just been authentic, innovative and everything a Leader should be.
12. Decisiveness. If you decide, decide firm, quick and get it over with. It is the moment the team and you have worked for. That's the moment where you put your head on the block for them so don't hesitate. everybody have put there "All" into this and deciding quickly and strongly is such a strong sign for everybody.
13. Empowerment. Lets face it. Nobody knows everything, nobody is perfect. When you know a team member has a certain skill then let them use it. He or she is probably going to do a far better job than you and feel rewarded. Go off stage as the head of, Director, CXO and give them the space to grow and achieve. Again, trustfully put your head on the block for your team.
14. Positivity. Now, who likes to work with a Grinch anyway but it is so far more fun and rewarding working with someone who can turn a thunderstorm into a day at the beach. I wish I could do that all the time but I fail at times. Still! Look at the positive side, no matter what. It will transport to the team and it will enable different more productive ways out of the mess your in than sitting there holding a grudge against the world because it went "south"
15. Generosity. Go all in. Give everything of yourself. Don't hold back. Ok, perhaps when revealing the colour scheme of your underpants is where to draw the line ( actually before that) but be generous with your knowledge and experience. You will receive it back because your team trusts you and knows you will give them all you know
16. Persistence. Don't mix it up with resistance. If you show that you are willing to go through with something because it just takes time then we are back at Patience. Persistence is patience with a plan!
17. Insight. Crucial point here. If you have the right insight then you know what is important out of all those things thrown at you. You can sort out in an instant, what is relevant and what will just fly past. If you get this right (and it can be tough) then you are the wizard, if you get it wrong, the drinks are on you.
18. Communication. My favourite one. Nothing is as powerful as communication. If someone messes up a task, ask yourself first:" Did I actually communicate what I needed properly?" If there is a challenge, communicate! Your ideas aren't necessarily the most brilliant ones just because you are the senior. That is why you communicate with your team. Communication is always the spark that lights the fire.
19. Accountability. Just take it in. Bare in mind again: If it goes right, it is your team. If it goes wrong, it is you. But don't stop there. Take the matter and find the point(s) where it failed and then set the task up again for success. That is showing accountability and getting it right.
20. Restlessness. Strive to find answers. You think your team has the answers all the time? Have you asked other questions for a change? You should be ticking like a cook cook clock. I get my best ideas in quiet moments and even under the shower because they sometimes don't let go of me. Or they just pop up out of nowhere. This does not mean you jeopardise your work-life balance. Know your team's strengths as well and delegate but stay on top of the matter.

If you got this far then at lest you are pretty persistent.

Thank you for your time. Thank you Mohamed for the inspiration.

On a personal note as I cannot share the name and details of MD number 2.