Learning the art of subtle leadership is key to success

Michael Ouma and his band provide probably the most entertaining live band experience you will come across on the entertainment scene in Uganda. Micheal, the band leader who on his social media pages goes by the pseudonym ‘Myko’, is himself a lean unassuming individual who in meeting for the first time one could easily mistake for the band assistant. It is only in observing him at work that you will discover the power and leadership prowess that lies within the lean lanky figure that you see. I was privileged to do just that on a recent trip to Kampala.

As I sat on my front row seat enjoying the sweet tones that oozed out of the musical instruments ‘Myko’ and his team effortlessly manipulated, I witnessed an interesting spectacle tease out. I noticed how the music gradually rose in tempo from the slow jazzy breezes that it started off with, to faster and faster beats that had the effect of wooing listeners off their seats and onto the dance floor. More than just the tempo change though, I noticed the subtle but effective way in which the band leader, ‘Myko’, who also plays the role of lead guitarist, signaled the change, tempo after tempo. A slight head nod in the direction of the lead singer, the drummer or whoever’s turn it was to take the lead was all it took for the recipient to act and make the change, ever so slightly at first until the others took his or her cue and changed in tandem to the new beat. There was no need to stop or to perform any such dramatic action in order to effect the change, but rather a tiny gesture triggered all to act in perfect unison like the great band they are.

This observation, simple as it was, was quite humbling. How many times do we as leaders drive change by a simple gesture such as a nod of the head? Do our teams know and trust us enough to take such a simple cue to change? Do we trust our teams enough to offer a slight signal in their direction trusting they will notice it and effect the required change? Do we act as much in unison as to notice the change signal when it comes from one or other of the team members selected to drive it? These, and many other questions filled my mind as I listened to, and observed the band play away to beats that kept the dance floor alive.

One of the biggest and most important roles that leaders play is that of nurturing trust amongst the team. More than just getting the individual team members to trust that as their leader you have their best interests at heart, you also need to get them to trust each other. As they set out to execute strategy they need to understand and trust each other to the extent that they impulsively respond to signals coming from yourself as well as from fellow team members without doubt or the need for ‘dramatic’ pronouncements or action. Do all teams act in that way though? If I were to attempt an answer to this question the answer would probably be in the negative. Why though?

Many leaders are driven by the belief that authority is demonstrated downwards through overt actions rather than both downwards and sideways through inert signals. They believe in the old school system of leading by decree and order and don’t feel the need to take the time to build trust with and amongst their team members. Such leaders, unfortunately, end up with the effect that individual team members start to align into silos based on how they align to his or her orders, in effect shuttering any hope of inter team trust.

Team trust is built gradually over time and at the core of the effort to develop it is the need for clear and simple communication. The team objectives need to be clearly defined and fully aligned. Alongside the alignment come clear definitions of the roles that each team member is required to play in delivering the ultimate goal and needless to say, because the team is aligned to the same vision, it is crucial that each member is aware of all other members’ abilities and roles. All this said though, the most important cog in the wheel of building trust is for each member, once aligned to their individual role, to honour their commitment without excuse.

When the above is all in place the next thing is to practice and practice until you get it right. In the business world of team building, this is called ‘bonding’, and during this phase, you must allow for mistakes and vulnerability until everyone gets it right. I’m not privy to ‘Myko’s’ world, but I’m willing to bet that behind each show of such perfect unison as I witnessed there must be long hour after long hour of practice, and judging from the fun they each seemed to have on stage I’m sure each failure, each off note, or each wrong tune during practice was followed by laughter and not admonishment