Being a believer of “Dream Big”, I never hesitated to aspire for a moonshot even if something is impossible. I have been aspiring to be a Leader and serve the organization by bringing my own ingredients and deliver the taste of success.
I remember the feedback from one of my mentors, on a discussion about my career aspirations, once mentioned that in Business the next role in Management is not only dependent on One’s own readiness but as well the Business readiness (in other words the business needs). But that should not stop one from building the necessary quality and be a Leader in action. I hope that I have done some justice to that feedback until now.
Today, I feel blessed to share that such a readiness has been achieved both on the business and as well as personal front. I am humbled to win the trust of my Leaders, who have now decided to pass the baton to me to serve the Team.
Speaking of Trust — It reminds me the words of Bill McDermott — ex-CEO of SAP who often quoted “Trust is earned in drops and lost in buckets”.
It’s the beginning of my new journey and I have just started earning my first drops.
In addition to the trust of my Leaders, it’s even more critical for me to earn the trust of my Team now. While I did introduce myself to the Team sharing one trait that I would never trade off — humility, I have as well asked back each for one non-negotiable quality which they expect from their Leader (me). Here is what I got –Trust, Empowerment, Vision, Fairness, Freedom, Tell it Like it is, Honesty, Empathy, Support, Consistency, Transparency, Respect and Openness. Sounds straight forward right! But living up to these values day-in and day-out is possible only if I am making a conscious choice at every breath in a stable emotional state.
I was overwhelmed when I first heard the positive news coming my way. I was nervous when I met my Team for the first time. Today, I feel more responsible than ever before having to live up to the expectations without letting both my Leaders and Team down. I was also questioning myself what’s next, so I doesn’t stop aspiring more or become complacent but rather continue to lead by example and propel towards the right motivation.
Often when I couldn’t find an answer inside me, my first go to place is Books. To begin with, I had reached out to the following three books.
‘The First 90 Days’ by Michael Watkins,
‘The Making of a Manager’ by Julie Zhuo and
‘What got you here won’t get you there’ by Marshall Goldsmith
I must admit that I thoroughly enjoyed these books. The frameworks, strategies, tips to avoid common traps, etc. which were discussed, and I found them to be very sensible. I am looking forward to applying some of them on my role. It’s not just that, I did find an answer for my quest, which becomes my next moonshot.
Yes, I am moving from an Aspiring “Leader” towards an Aspiring “Organizational Architect”.
According to Michael, the role of an Organizational Architect is to design an effective Organizational Architecture involving the following 5 key elements — Strategy, Structure, Systems, Skills and Culture. He / She must be good at identifying any misalignments among these key elements early and build a durable Organization which can succeed at different macro situations. The role in Management is not given forever unless the Leader’s vision and the Team’s contribution towards Organizational success speaks for itself.
As I read through these key elements, I was trying to do a mind map between these elements together with the qualities which my Team expects from me. So, I can start practicing them structurally along the frameworks that I just learned.
Strategy (vision), Structure (support, consistency), Systems (fairness, respect, transparency), Skills (honesty, empathy), Culture (trust, empowerment, freedom, openness, tell it like it is).
Just like a Leader, Organizational Architect is not an official role or a title but rather a quality, which every Leader should aspire to become effective at by learning and practicing every day. I am beginning this day with this note of optimism and hope that I will reach my next moonshot soon. I am as well deeply convinced that, this pursuit will help me in demonstrating the right behaviors as an effective Leader, which my Team and Leaders expect from me today and till the day when I must pass this baton to someone else.
cross posted from my LinkedIn
