Reflect on Your Past, and Elevate Your Leadership Approach!

The other day I found myself thinking about my achievements and failures and what I learned from them, as one should do from time to time. I reconnected with my younger self, a newly graduated computer engineering major who had a backpack full of technical skills and just a teaspoon of practical knowledge on what it takes to be successful at your job.?

Now that I’ve gone through the normal ups and downs that life puts us all through over the last decade, I see that the opportunities I chose for myself have shaped my career progression in many ways beyond the role-specific skillsets that I had to develop for each company I’ve worked for. My individual path has taught me what I believe to be the hardest, yet so vaguely widespread key to success, leadership. And why do I say “vaguely widespread”? Because most people when they first get familiar with the term “leadership” are driven by the surface-level definitions we see on social media of what leadership entails. Those definitions most of the time revolve around having a team and guiding them through their struggles but completely disregarding its complex nature.?

When I think of leadership, I like to close my eyes shut and envision an imaginary scenario in my head. I see my younger self joining a difficult client meeting and suddenly getting a parallel call that lets her know her manager won’t be joining but still wants to close the deal. I sense her fear “What am I supposed to do?” she wonders. “My boss was too busy to meet up with me before this so I could be informed of the plan, and I didn’t even understand what he meant on yesterday's daily call.”?

And I see the definition of leadership right there, crystal clear. Leadership to me is knowing yourself enough to manage your time effectively, adapt the content and style of your communications to your audience, and empower others to trust their abilities.?

If I put myself in the position of the manager, rather than seeing the situation from my younger self’s eyes, I understand they might’ve been under a lot of pressure, so much so they thought they didn’t have time to spend with their junior. However, it is the small everyday interactions that he or she could’ve had with my younger self that would’ve been key to me not feeling lost and hopeless in that imaginary meeting. True leaders seek positive interaction with others and surround themselves with people that help them achieve their goals.?

That scenario that I sometimes think about came right back into my mind when I was offered a seat at the GetLead leadership program at Getronics. I wanted to be the manager that my younger self didn’t have. For 15 months I learned how to become a better leader, accompanied by an amazing group of talented individuals from my company. We all came from many different backgrounds but gathered monthly to challenge ourselves to think outside the box. The program consisted of a combination of self-paced interactive learning on topics such as emotional intelligence, effective communication, conflict resolution, and performance management combined with instructor-led practical sessions where all participants gathered to share our thoughts and discuss strategies on how to handle challenging situations and make effective decisions based on the topic of the week.?

Getting the opportunity to train my leadership skills backed up by my company has been an invaluable experience and I already see myself implementing some strategies I’ve learned within the program in my work.

Perfecting leadership is a never-ending process. Everyday, I'm motivated to be the mentor my younger self could have benefited from, always growing and encouraging others to grow as well.

As I continue down this path, I need to express my heartfelt appreciation for my mentor, Bhargabi L. . Her dedication and commitment to our growth and development have been a driving force in my journey. Cheers to the ongoing adventure of leadership!?

#Leadership #CareerGrowth #GetLead #Getronics