I have had the good fortune to see some talented leaders in action, and when I realize for myself what the best approach is, my guess is that at some point I saw one of these other leaders take that same approach. I may not be able to remember in order give specific attribution, but I know that I have learned from others, and take those influences with me.
I think that my feelings influenced my actions early on, but also later on. One of the things about effectively leading a team is that emotions do not need to be removed, only negative ones. Whereas frustration was exacerbating the communications issue, I believe that my frustration with the frustration caused me to re-evaluate the situation. Something positive emerged when my emotions shifted just from frustration with people to frustration with the process. This set me on a course of focusing on the process, and immediately the group began to resolve its communications differences.
There are a few implications for my work-related learning. The first is simply that I realize that there is a lot of learning left to do. But I need to take all opportunities as learning opportunities. Leadership is something that can be practiced everyday, in particular the communications aspect of it. If I think about the different situations that I can encounter,...
This is something that I have learned recently that I think will help me a lot along my career path, that learning is something I will always do, especially with respect to leadership.
My strength appears to be that I am able to learn even from adverse experiences. I think that a positive attitude and a little humility goes a long way, and if there is an opportunity to improve my leadership skills I would be crazy not to take it. My weakness, if this episode taught me anything, is that I still have a lot to learn. I will make mistakes, perhaps mistakes that others would not make. The key for me will be learn from these mistakes so that they do not happen again. That sounds trite, but for younger people I think it really important because there is so much room for growth that if one does not recognize inexperience as a weakness, that is something that could stunt growth.
I suspect that if was someone else, my view of the episode might be different. I know that I take a very personal perspective on this issue, in part because I was involved and in part because that is human nature. If I am able to see the issues from the perspective of others, I think that will allow me to be a better communicator and a much better leader.
