What Does It Mean To Be A Leader?
In my professional journey, there have been a few instances when I received feedback that I needed to step up my leadership. But I wasn’t exactly sure what my managers meant by that – what were the leader-like things I was expected to do? So I embarked on a quest to learn what it means to be a leader. Fortuitously, I heard about a talk at work* by Herminia Ibarra, Professor of Organizational Behavior (or “Organisational Behaviour” as they say across the pond) at London Business School, who previously taught at INSEAD and Harvard Business School. The topic was making the leadership transition, and she introduced her new book, Act Like a Leader, Think Like a Leader.
I enjoyed the talk, so I bought the book. I remember taking notes on various ideas that resonated and was inspired to give them a try. Years later, I revisited the book and could see how I had adopted many of the practices suggested in the book with positive results. As a result, I find myself recommending this book to mentees and coaching clients with my own personal testimony.
The premise of the book is that in today’s fast-paced and complex business environment, the most successful leaders are the ones who are willing to challenge their assumptions, experiment with new behaviors, and constantly evolve their leadership style. When you take on a new role as a leader, it’s important to start by rethinking who you are and what you are there to do. The way to change is by behaving differently, which has the effect of changing the way you think as you interpret that behavior. Instead of waiting until you have all the right answers, the best way to develop leadership skills is to just do it and act like a leader.
Ibarra also discusses the importance of outsight (external knowledge, new experiences, taking action) over insight (internal knowledge, past experience, and thinking); in other words, getting out of your head! When you are stepping up, what matters more than specialty expertise are soft skills and business acumen. Specifically, you need to make 3 big shifts: redefine your job, network across and out, be more playful with yourself.
Redefine your job
Consider how you spend your time - you should be spending less time doing and more time on strategic planning and architecting. Instead of being an internally-focused hub where you’re at the center of things in your team, make yourself an externally-focused bridge that connects your team to the rest of the organization. What people want most from leaders is vision, direction, and strategic foresight, which you don’t get from just sitting around and thinking strategic thoughts. You need to get out in the world, become attuned to the environment, get involved in projects outside of your main area or organization, delegate more routine work, and develop talent.
As an International Relations major, I likened the external focus and bridge role to being like an ambassador for my team. I created more space for outsight by delegating things that didn’t need to be done by me, which has the added benefit of creating opportunities for others. I also took on the role of evangelist, telling the world about the important work my teams were doing, while also keeping an eye open for opportunities to share best practices and lessons or collaborate with other teams.
Network across and out
It’s human nature to form closer bonds with people who are similar to us and that we run into more frequently. In order to build the broad and diverse networks that differentiate leaders from managers, however, you need to be strategic and intentional with your relationships. Many people cringe at the mention of networking, and I’m no exception. As an introvert, I used to find the idea of it daunting. It’s tempting to deprioritize networking because the ROI can be ambiguous and take a long time to realize. But expanded networks are critical if you want to take a big picture view and see what is possible; they help you to understand what’s going on, connect the dots, find talent or career opportunities, and avoid the dreaded “groupthink” of internal-only focus. Keep in mind the BCDs of network advantage - breadth, connectivity, and dynamics. Start choosing your assignments strategically, join or create communities and activities of interest, and remember to network both up and down, empowering those below you.
After trying this out for myself, I can honestly say I have come to enjoy networking, especially the unexpected discoveries that come with outsight. I keep in touch with former co-workers who are now in different organizations. I contribute to my communities through interviewing and hiring committees, working groups, manager development programs, mentoring, coaching, leading ERGs, and even teaching yoga classes. All of these activities have make it possible to create new connections, and I’ve experienced the strength of “weak ties” or distant contacts for finding jobs and other opportunities. For example, I was a facilitator for a one-day professional development course at work several years ago. During the lunch break, I resisted my introvert tendency and sat with one of the participants. I casually mentioned that I was looking for a new role, and she said her team was hiring. She made a couple of introductions and I ended up finding my next job.
Be more playful with yourself
This is about expanding who you are. When you’re experiencing a transition to leadership, you may worry you may come off as inauthentic if you change the way that you show up, but there is a difference between being authentic and being rigid, where your sense of who you are is set in stone. As an example, when we get critical feedback and even when we’re aware of the negative impact we may be having, we often resist change, making excuses like, “That’s just who I am” or “It’s a small price to pay for my great results”. Or we worry that people will judge us for acting differently than we did before. But being playful means experimenting outside of your comfort zone, trying on new behaviors until you figure out what is right for you. Look for role models or simply traits that you admire in others. As you try new things, drop what doesn’t feel right, and integrate what does.
This is probably my favorite takeaway from the book. I worried that I might come across as inauthentic, but by gradually introducing small changes, I was really just growing and developing to get closer to my future self. And by approaching this with a playful mindset, I was able to cut myself some slack when things didn’t go perfectly, for the sake of learning.
Acting like a leader requires stepping outside of your comfort zone and taking on responsibilities that may stray outside the lines of your current job description. The new experiences and perspectives you gain will in turn transform the way that you think. If you like the ideas here and would like to delve deeper, I highly recommend reading the book, identifying a few things to try, ideally with the support of a coach or mentor.
* If you’re a Google employee, the video recording of the Herminia Ibarra’s talk is still available and so worth the time to watch!
