I wholeheartedly believe that leadership is not based on a title. Leadership is how we show up for one another daily and how we conduct ourselves. My early teenage days in the band, as a clarinetist, and later as a drum major in the Foley High School band sparked my lifelong obsession with this topic.

I remember how good it felt to be seen when the older kids knew my name and greeted me with a smile when I was a “rinky-dink” 7th grader.  Rinky-dinks hauled the conductor podium, water coolers, color guard, and percussion equipment for setup on the football field at band practices and half-time shows.  The older kids treated me with respect and encouragement, even when giving me feedback on how to do my job better. 

Last month, I reflected on my leadership journey as I enjoyed a friendly atmosphere in a virtual Zoom AnitaB.org gathering. The guest, Sirisha Machiraju, Director of Product at Uber, shared salient wisdom in a Leadership: The Next Level session. Her perspective and advice evoked a deepening appreciation of my journey over the last ten years of my career. Here are my notes from what she shared.

The Move from Individual Contributor to Manager

• Energy Management. Manage the energy of the group. Keep things calm.
• Increased amount of context switching. Pick a toolkit that helps you be structured and operate with a “method to the madness.” Be deliberate in prioritizing your time. Example: Every Monday, she emails her team her big things for the week (scratchpad). 
• Step away from the details. Trust your team to get the details. When you ask questions, let them know why you’re asking so you can keep their trust through your own transparency and by giving them context. Transparency helps them trust me and allows you to scale.
• It is okay to say, “I don’t know.” Respect everyone’s time and say, “I need to take this offline & get back to you on that. 
• Ability to give feedback: people management. It is essential to develop this skill and, especially for the tough feedback, frame it as an “area of growth.”  Learn tactics to buffer taking in the emotional impact of these conversations. It can be exhausting. Suggested reading: Radical Candor.

Product Management Leadership

• Product strategy: Know how to build the right thing at the right time. Look into the future with a vision of the path to get there and articulate that. Go beyond execution and (doing) what you are told. Be excited about the future and be able to relay that excitement.
• Ability to communicate at all levels. Speak briefly and deeply. Know when to dial up and dial down the level of detail.
• Self-reliance and Thought leadership: Direct yourself. Discern when to solve by yourself vs. knowing when to ask for help. Give visibility to your upline. Encourage the team to give you a heads-up if something seems to be a potential issue. RE: peer conversations: Go into a call with solution options on the table and pros and cons. Example: “ I plan to go with option X because of [this] data… What are your thoughts? What am I missing, if anything?”

Managing Conflict and Misunderstanding

• Always seek first to understand where a person is coming from.  Never assume someone is mad at you.  Don’t take anything personally.
• Create and maintain clear documentation and emails regarding conversations. You must have an audit trail for performance-related issues.
• Have candid conversations.  When things go off the rails, stay open and discuss “How do we avoid it next time?”

My Parting Wish for All

Though I began by asserting that leadership is not a title, I hope those assigned a leadership role can tap into humility and see themselves as conduits and conductors. Leaders are figuratively at the foundation of the “totem pole,” supporting their teams, taking care of hard things, and working proactively to foster united and healthy workplace cultures. 

I also assert that anyone with any title can influence the creative collective power of their entire team.   That is where the magic is.  If you catch yourself with a “rinky-dink” mindset (i.e. “Solving that pain point is above my pay grade.”), consider reframing the challenge. Increasing our leadership capacity requires self-awareness and courage.  Clarity of intentions and clarity in communications is tantamount to conscientiousness.

Through our relationships with one another, we mutually discover our gifts so that we can uniquely bring out more of ourselves to serve the world. May the spark of your aspiration ignite you into the next right action!  And I hope you making time to enjoy summer.

[Photo by Katja Anokhina on Unsplash]

Today’s musical accomplishment:
Laura Veirs, July Flame [YouTube, Spotify]