3 Tips to Unlock Your 360 Leadership
Habits that boosted my confidence to influence larger organizations
Do you feel hesitant speaking up in a meeting with upper leadership? Have you ever resorted to pulling tricks to influence the direction of a sister team?
In the leadership curriculum, we pay a lot of attention leading down. We talk a lot about leading people you have some level of authority over, as a manager or TL. In reality, that’s ⅓ of the story. To become a wholesome leader, you need to be equally effective leading your peers and leading up. In this post, I will share 3 hidden lessons that you can implement in your day to unlock your full potential.
When I first became a TL at Google many years ago, I struggled a lot influencing a larger audience. Often I resorted to creating back-channels to communicate. This created a large gap in my ability to effectively steer conversations in group settings. Over the years, as I grew in my role, I developed 3 practices that helped me become better leading up and across.
I wish someone had shared them with me earlier and saved me the trouble it caused. But you don't have to experience the hardship, so here they are:
📚 1. Build Credibility
There's no alternative to building your reputation. You're invited to the table for discussion because your insights are valued. But, we often focus on our weaknesses rather than our strengths.
I remember obsessing over my insecurities with my verbal communication. Being a non-native speaker, I experienced that my speaking abilities couldn't match my thought speed. It felt like a limiting factor in my competence. Being self-critic is helpful for growth. But only focusing on limitations will get you nowhere.
Over time, I realized I was not getting paid for my English speaking capabilities. Focus on your strengths as you improve your weaknesses.
🗣️ 2. Strategize Your Communication
One size doesn't fit all. Peer conversations differ from leadership presentations. Curate your communication style based on your audience. I made mistakes of being more prescriptive with peers. It made others perceive me as not collaborative. Practice active listening, always seek to understand others' perspectives first. This simple change helped me convince a large organization to align on my proposal.
But that doesn't work well with upper leadership. There you need to focus on concise updates and solution-oriented ideas. Be clear how your idea gets the organization from point A to point B. Adjust your message as your audience shifts.
🌎 3. Focus on the Larger Picture
Focus on shared wins, not individual glory. Support your peers' initiatives, offer help, and publicly celebrate their successes. This builds a strong reputation as a reliable partner. Every team is working on optimizing their work, focusing on how your idea helps them is important.
Organizational context becomes very important in resolving conflicts. Not all initiatives will be well received by others. Being open and aligning towards a larger goal becomes very effective. This also means being flexible. Remember it’s always an organizational win!
Leading Up
Feeling nervous in front of your senior leadership is natural. But that shouldn’t limit you from being able to deliver your message. Leading up requires a shift in mindset. Focus on becoming a valuable resource for your leaders. Offer solutions, not just problems. Be proactive and take initiative. Show a genuine interest in the larger goals of the team or organization. Demonstrate reliability and a commitment to excellence. Your goal is to make your leader's work easier, not create more for them.
Keep your focus on the strengths. Acknowledge that it’s okay to make mistakes.
Be more prescriptive with your opinions. Senior leaders trust you to bring an efficient solution, not to debate them.
Align your direction with overall organizational values/goals.
Leading Across
Leading peers is all about collaboration. Focus on building strong relationships. Share your expertise freely. Be a champion for your teammates' successes. Approach challenges with a "we're in this together" mentality. Seek consensus when possible. Offer constructive feedback and be open to receiving it. Remember, leading peers is about earning influence, not asserting authority. Let's explore how we can apply 3 rules we discussed for leading across,
Lending your expertise is a great way to build trust amongst your peers. Position yourself as a reliable support in their success. Be a champion for everyone, make them feel heard.
Active listening is very important. I used to evaluate how I am doing by measuring the speaking/listening split in meetings.
Be open to feedback. Especially when your idea makes their lives harder. Identifying and include key stakeholders as early as possible. This saves everyone's time and stops you from being too defensive on your ideas.
These habits took my career to the next level, Staff and beyond. Give them a try and let me know how they work for you.
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