Leadership & Patience

 So, I've been in the transition phase from being a developer to becoming a leader.  And it has been an eye-opening journey. As a developer, I only had a little appreciation for managers - as evident in my previous blog posts. However, playing that role and starting to think about how top leaders operate, I see why it's such a difficult job.

As a developer, I would look at my emails, identify the tasks, fix bugs, code a story or two, and feel accomplished, like I've done my job because the deliverables were tangible. Looking at the top leadership, the tangible outcomes tend to become far and few. One would end up working for years on an initiative before the outcome. It becomes more about vision and doing the small things the right way. It's akin to planting a mango tree. You're lucky if the tree grows and starts producing fruits, and you're still there to see it, but most of the time, the next generation will enjoy the fruits. However, as the tree starts, keeping it healthy and tending to it to ensure it reaches the mature state where it starts fruition is essential. And that's what leaders provide. They provide the vision with which the trees are planted; they provide the nurturing hand helping them grow; but they may not be around to see the tangible benefits.

And that is the essence of leadership and visionaries. They need to be self-motivated and have tremendous amounts of self-confidence. Because there will be detractors who may not see the benefit. There will be people who would instead plant corn or soy and reap the benefits sooner. The leaders, however, understand that the world needs all those people. The world needs its critics, needs the corn & soy, and needs the trees.

EMBA Chronicles - Ep 3

So, we started the third term this weekend. It's always interesting to see the mix of Professors. I met a couple of new professors who were very well-read, and I had amazing discussions with them. Also met a Prof who doesn't believe that IITR as an institution/organization needs to worry about what businesses want from their grads and/or should spend time on improving the processes within, as it's a govt. Organizations and Profs don't have any control, interest, or say in the administration.

This prompted me to think about educational institutions and their responsibilities. And I can see the latter's point, but I would like to disagree. 

You see, I believe that one should always strive to improve the environment around them. It doesn't matter whether they are in a private institution, public organization, or their own homes. Everything around you has scope for improvement. If humankind had decided that caves provided a perfectly comfortable and safe residence, we wouldn't have the modern cities that we have today. If we had decided that fire was too unsafe to use, we would still be eating raw grains and meats. It's the inherently curious nature that propels us to do better and helps us move forward. I recently discovered that it's called the Campground principle - Leave the campground a better place than how you found it. Essentially, clean up after yourself, thinking of the people that would follow, and not leave all the trash lying around. I also saw a meme that suggested how we Indians, esp. in India, like to keep our houses spotless but happily litter when outside without giving it a second thought.

To the professor's credit, he did say that IITRs responsibility is to research the topics that are interesting and can be groundbreaking. But what about social responsibilities? 

From the very first year that I joined the corporate world, I have had a consistent goal of adding process improvements. And I've been good at it, if I may say so. Process Analysis, Automation, Transformations - I love all of those. But I had no idea of any of it before joining the Corp world. In my college or school, I never was asked for feedback and never saw anyone remotely interested in improving the way things worked. I'm sure there were people that worked on improving the facilities, infrastructure, teaching quality, etc., but they would've worked in silos as largely it was the "Chalta hai" or the "Not My Problem to solve" approach.

Had I seen people around me Act as Owners and strive to make a difference, I can safely say I would be better equipped for the corporate world. I see this as a benefit to not just the target business organizations that the students would get into but also as a step in the right direction for the educational institutions.

Despite going through Agile training and reading about it, it wasn't until my 4th year, when I started working with a team that emulated the Agile methodology to near perfection, that I really understood how to make it work and what all those terms really mean. When it says Retros are to discuss items that can improve the functioning of the team, I saw that the team said things that were obvious factors and could turn a person defensive and make them feel bad. Yet, the team motto of What's said in a Retro stays in a Retro was perfectly emulated, and team members understood that they weren't being targeted personally but that simple facts were being discussed, and they would do well to ask for help next time they got stuck somewhere. It was a perfect amalgamation of professionalism and process improvement.

That is not something that is taught in any educational institution, esp. in India. In fact, the teachers and professors relish the power that comes with the position and aren't really willing to change themselves or anything around them. In a government organization like IITR, this is clearly evident because of the security the government positions afford them, with Professors stating and claiming that they can do what they want and nobody can budge them from their position.

However, if an institution decides to go that route, I can see immense success in its future. What businesses want mostly is leaders, not managers. People who are role models and think differently. People who Act like Owners and strive to make a difference. Giving an environment where these qualities are pervasive would translate into it becoming a habit for every student who goes through that institution. This would be very attractive to organizations that are always looking for such talents, and they would be ready to dish out high packages to recruit those students who would become future leaders. This would, in turn, increase the reputation of the institution, allowing for bigger budgets for the groundbreaking research that the Prof. claims the institutions are actually for.

As the 1% rule explains, a small change, if done enough number of times, can bring about a huge return on investments as every change is cumulative.