What's your leadership style?

Dear Reader,

All leaders have an innate style of leadership that comes naturally to them. In B-school, I was taught how successful leaders have historically demonstrated a strong inclination towards one style and supplemented their success with the other styles.

There are four traditional styles of leadership.

Is one style better than the other? Certainly not, but every leader has a natural inclination towards one or the other and must ensure gaps in his/her leadership style are covered by other leaders in his/her team, either peers or direct reports. A holistic view is key when making leadership decisions. To consistently make the right decision you need to be a leader with a strong inclination in one style otherwise you cannot be 'Right A Lot' all the time.

There are drawbacks to each style. A strategist can get so caught up strategizing that they lose sight of the vision, lose the support of their team and are unable to show the value of a strategy. A visionary can paint a grand picture but have no way to realize the vision. A motivational leader can come across as someone who just talks without actually doing anything. If you are leading your team by example and fail to reach said goal, you risk everyone doubting you.

Are these the only leadership styles. Mostly yes, as most styles can be bucketed into one of the above four.

But there is more... a new leadership style has emerged in 'new age' organizations. This is not specific to technology companies and can be applied to any type of organization.

Problem Solver: Are problem solvers in thinking and win by solving real problems, removing barriers to progress, removing blockers, and take the organization in the right direction. Ex: Page & Brin.

A problem could be of any kind, a customer problem, a people problem, a process problem, a technical problem, a financial problem, a combination of problems, a problem of a problem, it could be visible, it could be hidden, etc. Identifying the right problem is the first step. The problem solving mindset works great when you are surrounded by a team of similar mindset. Would everyone like to solve the problem in the same way? Maybe not, there may be more than one way to solve a problem and that adds to the fun of problem solving.

If you are leader of style 'problem solver' and as an outsider you see a solution to a problem that some has solved, you have a Aha! moment, and realize that a solution that appeared weird earlier now makes perfect sense. The trap in problem solving is coming up with a very complex solution. Instead look for solutions that are simple to implement, easy to execute, and that you can build upon. Elegant solutions require out of the box thinking and multiple iterations to arrive at a good solution. It is hard. There is no playbook for solving a problem. But there are methods to identify the right problem.

I've come to like the 'Problem Solver' style and I actively use it in my work. However, my natural leadership style is inclined to 'Lead by Example'.

What is your leadership style? Tell me in the comments section or spend some time finding your leadership style and playing to your strength to get ahead.

Lastly, be mindful of the 'Moron' style of leadership where you just have to be a moron. It is most prevalent... and works very well too!

Until next time.

Jyothin

Pick Yourself Up

 Pick Yourself Up

Fred Astair version

Frank Sinatra version

Ella Fitzgerald version

Nat King Cole version from Breaking Bad - Breaking Bad Video

Peter Tosh version

Still applicable even in 2023

3 questions that help you get through the day

Dear Reader,

Hope you had a great start to 2023.

I was watching a business update by 2 business leaders and it included a short non-work related conversation between them. One leader asked the other leader, tell us a little about yourself by answering 3 questions,

1. What is your morning routine like?
2. What is your favorite vacation place?
3. What do you do to energize yourself?

Long after the video ended, I kept thinking about how I would go about answering these 3 questions. It did not turn out to be very difficult for me to get the answers. So, here are the answers and a nice way to let you know a little bit about myself.

1. What is my morning routine?

I don't miss making my bed and doing 10 mins of stretching every morning.

The habit of making my bed was a habit that my parents asked me to inculcate since my childhood but it never really became a regular habit but felt more like a daily chore. Years later, I read the graduation address given by a US Admiral in which he explained how making your bed gives one a sense of achievement. That really put this simple daily chore in perspective and it became a regular habit.

Body stretches help me literally 'wake up'. There are days when I feel lethargic and feel I just need another 5 mins of sleep. Stretching helps me overcome that and literally wakes me up and gets me active.

An afternoon routine that I got habituated to is 10 mins of deep breathing exercises (normally done as a daily calm). And yes, it helps get over any afternoon blues :-)

2. What is my favorite vacation place?

Beaches

I cannot get enough of a great beach time. Going for a swim, playing in the sand, listening to the soothing sound of the waves, watching the sun rise and set, eating healthly seafood, and just thinking deeply about things close to me.

3. What do I do to energize myself?

Cycling to work (and back home) helps me get some alone time, reflect on things and a 'cycling high'.

In fact, any physical activity that gets my blood flowing is a great way for me destress and energize myself. I also swim & play racquetball as an alternative to cycling. But cycling to work also serves the triple purpose of meeting my 'commute to work' requirement and lowers my petrol bill (and in turn save the plant).

Other activities that help me get energized are; reading a nice book/cooking a nice meal :-)

What are your answers to the above 3 questions? Let me know in the comments section.

Until later.

Jyothin