on Leadership
We’re social animals. It is the reason why we have been so dominant as a species. We’re the primates who took the meaning of social to a whole new level. Before us, only social insects like ants and bees used to gather by millions to solve complex problems. We’re different from social insects because how we interact socially is very very flexible. The hive intelligence of insects is primarily dictated by genetics and epigenetic instructions. We, on the other hand, are not as hardcoded as the insects, at least not behavior-wise.
When we humans unite in a group no matter how small or how large, there is almost always a leader. We are constantly choosing leaders with or without realizing it. A leader is someone we look up to when we’re unsure. The members of a group do what the leader sets as “accepted” behavior. Leaders knowingly or unknowingly direct the direction of a group.
Leadership comes so naturally to us that we appoint leaders everywhere. We appoint leaders for our countries, our offices, our churches, and our clubs. Even in a group of small children, many times we can point who the leader is. So it is not surprising that our organizations are divided into leaders and followers. And each leader is also a follower and many followers are also leaders. For instance, in an engineering company, the CTO is a leader to the tech team. But the CTO answers to the CEO or some other higher-level manager. Leadership is essential in human organizations to get anything meaningful done.
Unlike the bottom-up phenomena in natural environments, in a company or an organization leaders are usually appointed top down. This might cause some problems. Leaders might have a hard time earning the trust of their team. Without the trust of their teammates, leaders can’t get much done. Trust is the best lubricant when it comes to human interactions. Without trust, there is so much friction and resistance to everything, and hardly anything gets done. Besides trust, willingness is another key factor in human interactions, actions have to be voluntary, we cannot force anyone to do anything. Leading a bunch of people is a tricky job.
Knowing what the technical problem is, and attempting to apply the obvious solution is usually not enough. When it comes to dealing with people, it pays to have some knowledge about human nature. Human nature has been the same for thousands of years. We’re emotional creatures who feel common emotions like envy, jealousy, love, hate, passion, e.t.c. With human nature and emotions in mind, careful strategy and tactics need to be devised and applied with situational awareness. It can get tricky, when it comes to earning the confidence of fellow humans and making them do things willingly, even enthusiastically. It is an art more than science, and it can only be learned through experience or mentorship.
When it comes to leadership understanding the motivations and incentives of the employees is a key factor. Another key factor is decentralization. Micromanaging works in very few situations. A much better strategy is to appoint capable people and let them do their job. Or even remove obstacles for them to make sure they can do what they’re good at. Unnecessary supervision is a major problem. To earn trust, first, you have to trust. In fact, that’s how one of the most successful companies in human history, Berkshire Hathaway runs its things. Decentralization saves a lot of energy. And it is a powerful and proven strategy.
Another key to leadership is systems thinking. It is too easy to see others as part of the problem and come up with a “rational” solution to solve it. But these “other members” are part of this same system that we leaders are a part of. And many times the issue is not with a part but with the whole. Looking at the team as a whole and seeing oneself as a part of it and being objective in this perspective can be another useful tool for a leader.
