What I Believe Is The Most Important Leadership Trait Of Today

I believe that the most essential leadership trait of today is empathy, especially after a global pandemic that has forever disrupted people's lives worldwide. We are all interconnected in one way or another. A powerful way of communicating with each other is to have empathy. Through empathy, we can come together to form stronger bonds, leading us to be better problem solvers. I have worked in various industries, from healthcare to manufacturing. Whenever a problem needs to be solved, I take the path of a people-first approach.?

That means taking the time to understand the people involved in a business problem. I also want to learn how they do their work, and I want to find out what problems they are facing. Then, with solving the problem, I want to encourage them to be part of the solution process.

I once worked for a manufacturing company that had migrated to a new MES but kept its previous system around as a way for employees to still have access to its information. Eventually, it came time to stop renewing the license to save cost and ensure that employees use the newer system for their work entirely. I led the decommission efforts to ensure everyone was entirely off of the older system.

How did I approach this?

I had a conversation with all the key stakeholders who or their team was still using the older system. I wanted to find out what their roles were and what was a typical day of work for them. I wanted to see how the work they contributed helped meet the organization's strategic goals. I also wanted to find out how the use of the older system played into their daily job functions.?

Obviously, suppose they were still using the older system for specific functions. In that case, that means they found some value in doing that. Often, it was just familiarity and the convenience of having the system around. I mentioned that we were looking to decommission the system because we would like everyone to be 100% on the newer system. I also explained that we would also be saving costs in license fees for the company.?

Change is hard and it can be inconvenient. I wanted the people I was meeting with to be part of the solution. I asked them what they would do if this system was turned off tomorrow or in the next few days? I could then see their creative thought process working. They all came up with a variety of solutions that would enable them to adapt to a different approach and still be able to continue their work.?

Over the next few weeks, preparations were made to assist everyone with their transition plans. It was decided to just switch over to the new system for some. For others, they produced documentation of the information they needed in the soon-to-be decommissioned system to be extracted in a usable format. I also worked with the vendor of the older system to get a backup of the data in the event we ever needed to access information from it for legal purposes. Overall, this approach made it possible for us to stop using the older system about two months before the license's renewal date.

This is why I like a people-first approach to coming up with solutions to solve business problems. When on the same page, teams can come up with far better solutions than any individual. I strongly feel that empathy combined with treating others with respect and having a big-picture view is a long-term strategy that delivers excellent value.

Image courtesy of Semina Psichogiopoulou.