4 lessons that made me a better leader

When I was 7, my school teacher asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. My response: I wanted to be a bus conductor on a double-decker bus (in Bombay circa 1980’s, they were very commonplace), since the bus conductor decided when the bus stopped and when it was time to take off.

We were all young and immature once, right?

In the workplace, I have never tried to blend in and coast. I’d rather subject my ideas and efforts to scrutiny and go for the win. It is not for me to be relegated to an asterisk in the great book of life; I always try and write some chapters and change some conclusions.

From my successes and failures, I have learned some key lessons that are apropos regardless of where you are in your career.

So, what makes you a leader at work?

Do you believe in yourself?

It is ok to suffer from imposter syndrome until you start acting like an imposter. The day you start believing that your worst fears about your own abilities are true, you will start radiating it to others.

One of my earliest mentors - back when I was an intern at Intel - was an admirer of former French President Charles de Gaulle. Through defeat in World War 2 and political upheavals, de Gaulle always spoke of his country’s honor and his personal values in service of it. Author Julian Jackson, whose book De Gaulle, I recently read, states that De Gaulle had a much weaker hand than Churchill during WW2, but still projected what was almost an unearned sense of superiority. In time, that drew people to him and grew his power.

This may sound like modern day “fake it till you make it, but that self-belief sans ability is still more potent than ability that is not backed up by conviction. Just imagine what you could do by cultivating both belief and ability.

Remember: Perceptions are shaped as much by what people say about you in your absence as by what you say in front of them.

Does your boss back you?

As I have written before, your sphere of impact at work is a function of your boss’ radius. If your boss has power and a record to back it up, it is vital that you win their trust. If you succeed, everyone you supervise and/or seek to influence will know you speak for your boss. Your words will carry weight with them because they carry value with your boss.

Former Secretary of State, James Baker, was one of the most powerful secretaries in the history of the United States, because he had the full backing of his boss, President George H. W. Bush. He harnessed this derived power while intimidating Saddam Hussein with the threat of a nuclear strike if the latter were to use chemical weapons against Kuwait. Baker’s strength with his boss also empowered him to stitch an alliance of 34 countries that maximize the chances of victory while minimizing loss of American lives.

Remember: there is no greater emasculation than getting blindsided by your boss, and no greater amplification than having their visible and implied backing.

Have you paid your dues?

“How did you deal with this problem before?”

There will come a point in your career when you will transition from being the person asking this question to becoming the person answering it. Your biography and litany of achievements will make you the go-to person. No two problems are exactly the same, but the battle scars of the past confer judgment, and demonstrable contributions to past wins will have earned you the right to influence future decisions.

When tennis legend Novak Djokovic hit a rough patch a few years ago, he hired as his coach German great, Boris Becker. During his playing days, Becker shared Djokovic’s temperamental effervescence as well as that special genius that enabled several comebacks. He had scaled the tallest peaks and inspected the deepest valleys he had emerged from. Under Becker’s watchful tutelage, Djokovic’s career witnessed a renaissance where, at one point, he held all 4 tennis grand slams at the same time, the only time such a feat has been achieved in the modern era.

Remember: Just as you can’t hurry love, you can’t buy credibility either. In the short term, you can demonstrate examples of your power; it takes longer to demonstrate the power of your example.

Is there more to you than your job?

I remember whining to one of my favorite professors during my undergraduate days about having to take courses that were only tangentially related to computer science. “If I could take Data Structures, C# and Database Systems, I’d get an internship for the summer and a full-time gig shortly thereafter.”

I was being too transactional, he countered. I needed to appreciate the many different ways to look at a computer--code for “you need more coursework than just those three”--and a better understanding of the world that computers are meant to serve and change.

It all sounded a bit idealistic for me back then, but today, my ability to relate to people based on shared interests ranging from animal welfare, economic policy, literature, classical music, etc. provides us a better understanding of each other. These additional dimensions make our relationships an enduring investment, one more geared towards additive mutual benefit, rather than a short-term zero sum transaction.

Remember: A tree has roots and branches, the former a legacy of its past and the latter a testament to its regenerate power to provide for the future. You need to be the tree rather than its bright and seasonal flower or fruit.

These lessons have served me well, whether I am leading or being led. I hope they benefit anyone reading this as well.