Two Leadership Themes

My leadership will keep on sailing.

I spend plenty of time with other professional people.  We often discuss many subjects, and we often talk about our family lives, careers, and what motivates us.  Occasionally, we talk about deeper topics, but the main topic of our conversations is leadership.  How does a person lead a group of people?  What does a leader do when faced with incompetence or insubordination?  Today, I want to discuss my feelings on leadership.  

The main focus of my career is helping others avoid the mistakes I have made in my career.  I want people to avoid the hardship and disappointment I have encountered during my adventures working as a software developer and project manager.  Failure is the best educator someone can experience in a career.  I want to share the hard-earned wisdom of failure with others so they can avoid the roadblocks and setbacks I have encountered.

Along the way, I have discovered two main themes which have guided my leadership.  The first is servant leadership.  I was exposed to this as a teenager with the help of Marine Corps JROTC.  I discovered leadership is lonely.  It required being a servant for the people you lead.  It also forced me to put my needs on hold while things got done.  I gravitated to leaders who practiced this ethos, and it further shaped me as a person and leader.  

The other is the discovery of Kim Scott and her book Radical Candor.  Her writing and efforts' central thesis is that leadership requires a combination of honesty and empathy to be successful.  Truth without compassion is obnoxious aggression.  Empathy to hide the truth is ruinous.  Kim Scott brings plenty of experience to her writing, and it is bracing to hear her talk honestly about her mistakes.  

I combine Radical Candor and servant leadership to guide how I work with others.  It is not a straightforward approach, but it has given me tremendous satisfaction over my career length.

Until next time.