To Lead or to be Lead?

Since I am on this trying to get back on the wagon for writing mood, let me share something that I gain last week. For the past 2 weeks, the company has been arranging session for people's development. This company I work with are among the forefront that creates top leaders, just to name a few, we have Idris Jala and the previous SC chairman, Zarinah Anwar. Even from the recruitment stage, they have various module to identify the 'leaders'.

We have been drilled with many leadership skills since the moment we step into the job, how much are we able to embed it, thats another debate. They used to have this thing called 9 Planets, which covers how a leader should behave/act, what should be done to cultivate that leadership quality. I barely knew all the planets and now they have changed to this new leadership attributes. Just so that I can remember what it is, I am sharing it here.

There was one particular session last week, the management team were called in and share their views on these attributes. Most of them started by sharing who inspires them i.e the role model. Which bags me to recall who was my role model. When I come to think of it, I normally don't emulate any good behaviours, I've seen many good leaders, in and out of the company, maybe some in school, but I have never made a conscious decision to start doing whatever that they are doing, or at least try to. Most of my actions or how I carry myself was on the basis "Don't do what this person is doing...". Which means I am avoiding what my bad role models are doing.

By taking that approach, does it do any good to my personal development? Maybe, but not so much in the direction that I potentially can achieve. I should start to do what is good, avoiding the bad, yes, but if I put to much constraints I'm afraid that I will end up doing nothing.

Main key take away from the session :

1. Value the things that we do. Having a proper process is good, but does all of it creates value? (Bak kata manager tu, jangan buat kerja syok sendiri :P)
2. Good managers/leaders are the one that able to stretch his people, able to identify how much the team can do, instead of going to the same willing person to get a job done.
3. Have a good relationship with people around you, as most of the things will be delivered by them.
4. Internalize what we want to do consistently until it becomes a habit, just do it, once your system recognize it can be done, you will be able to do it.
5. Last but not least (most importantly)...do not become indispensible, make whatever information that you holds visible to people, but of course within the boundary of authority the information is allowed to, based on your position.

There you go, you can take this and run away with it (read: me) or you can let it sits in your notebook, waiting for another moment of enlightenment in the future, take your pick.