Am I Good Leader

We were asked to be self-reflective about our leadership capabilities and our ability to be a part of a team. It did not take this prompt for me to have to think about my capabilities as a team leader and team member. 

The past few years in my career have led to a lot of souls searching along these lines. 15 years ago, I was in a position to lead a small company in a new industry at an executive level. I soon found that I wasn't ready for that level of leadership. 10 years ago I was a director at an organization I knew a lot about and excelled as a team leader and member. 

When that organization doubled in size I found myself out of my depth again. For the past five years, I've worked as an executive leader and team member for a smaller organization. The votes are still counted on how I'm doing. I think that there are moments in time when we meet the needs of the organization, and then there are those when we aren't ready. If I was asked to be the leader of that organization 15 years ago, I'd be up to the task now. If I was a director in my current role, rather than a VP, I would be doing a phenomenal job I suspect. 

When I read Kolbe (2013) I saw several areas where I think I could use some work. Talking to the room is something I don't do well. Years ago my grandfather, probably tired of my talking back to him and flippancy, reminded me of the aphorism, "it's better to keep one's mouth shut and allow others to assume they're a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt." 

I've taken this to heart perhaps too much and used this mantra during meetings too much. Kolbe (2013) writes "it is an implicit rather than explicit behavior as it is in a spontaneous, intuitive style" (p. 622). I think I've tempered this out of my life to a point where it inhibits my ability to react well in a team in this regard. Speaking up too, is an area where the struggle for the same reason. Kolbe (2013) writes that speaking up can help "mitigate errors made by leaders" (p. 629). The same arguments from above are in use in my head with this aspect of Kolbe's advice.

There were two positives I was able to find as well. the first came in Kolbe (2013) where she writes, "high-risk teams benefit from establishing a shared understanding before task performance. This shared cognition/understanding can be established during preoperational briefings" (p. 619). Then this from Zajac and Salas (2013) on theme #9: Engage Team Members with a Shared Vision, Clear Mission, and Compelling Purpose, "creating a positive climate for employees includes establishing a clear mission as well as clear and challenging goals" (p. 656).  

I know that this is a contrast to the above, but I think it has to do with proper prior planning, the opportunity to plan what will be said, not needing to speak contemporaneously. On balance do these two characteristics balance each other out, I think it depends on the situation, the organization, and the position. 

Some of this might be from my work with the Rangers. The same lessons my grandfather taught me were a part of Ranger School. Don't speak unless spoken to. Defer to authority. If you don't have a good answer, say nothing and learn. In some ways, the lessons I learned from my grandfather and the Rangers haven't helped me in the business world. 

References

Kolbe, M. (2013). Five simple processes that improve high-risk team effectiveness. In Salas, E., Tannenbaum, S., Cohen, D., & Latham, G. (Eds.), Developing and Enhancing Teamwork in Organizations: Evidence-Based BestPractices and Guidelines (1st ed., pp. 609-643). Jossey-Bass.

Zajac, S. and Salas, E. (2013). Enhancing the practice of teamwork in organizations; Emerging themes. In Salas, E., Tannenbaum, S., Cohen, D., & Latham, G. (Eds.), Developing and Enhancing Teamwork in Organizations: Evidence-Based BestPractices and Guidelines (1st ed., pp. 647-659). Jossey-Bass.