When it comes to leadership I’ve noticed that people have all kinds of beliefs and opinions, and over time I’ve seen and heard all kinds of reactions:
- some say it’s an innate ability and that no matter how hard we try to develop it, we don’t really succeed;
- others say it is a skill that can be learned like any other;
- there are people who say that leadership is “common sense”;
- there are people who think it’s just another a form of manipulation;
- I’ve even heard reactions like “this is some kind of pop-culture, something that’s in fashion these days”.
I believe leadership is about authentically connecting two sides:
- who I am – my own style, my values, those things I really care about – and
- how I connect with others – how I approach things, how I support and encourage them in a healthy and appropriate way, how I “hit the gas pedal” when performance isn’t where we want it to be, how I grow certain skills, and how I make sure my team is functioning effectively.
And I firmly believe that it can be developed, instilled and taught.
I asked myself the question “where do we start” to develop leadership competence in people who end up leading (formally or informally) teams in Romania. And I realized that I first needed to understand what the basis was. We came to the following points:
LACK OF EDUCATION
I have noticed that we have a great lack of education in this direction, because in a former communist country, entrepreneurship and leadership have not only not been supported, but have been systematically demolished. It was healthier to stay in line and listen. To be compliant.
FAMILY AND CLOSE CIRCLE
I don’t know how it was in other families, but from home I remember remarks like “the teacher/ adult/ boss knows best, that’s why he’s there”, “you can listen to the adults talk, but keep your mouth shut”, “shut up and watch, you don’t know who wants to hurt you”, “the head bowed isn’t cut by the sword”, “to be accepted you have to behave like this or that”. I have internalized all these views and found it very hard to live with them. It was a big effort to try to be the image others had of me. When I learned to be authentic I found that I could connect much more easily and deeply with those around me.
SCHOOL
If school taught me anything, it was how to do things superficially, individualistically, for the short-term goal and how to find the path of least resistance (least effort) as quickly as possible. I’m not talking here about teachers who inspired me and whom I admired, they are exceptions. Nor can I say that school prepared me for the dynamic work environment. I didn’t learn leadership in school either.
WORKING ENVIRONMENT
This is where I noticed that various companies have put serious efforts into creating a work environment that fosters leadership. But in most cases we have seen people who have risen to leadership positions because they have performed well as specialists. And that’s it. Most of the time, people are thrown unprepared into these roles and find it hard to find their own way.
And because that’s where we start, it’s pretty clear that if we want to grow leaders in an organization then it takes a sustained and focused effort over time.
One of the organizations where I have seen a structured model for increasing leadership attitudes and skills is Accesa in Cluj.
- First of all, here people are encouraged to take a leadership role if they feel ready and have a lot of freedom of initiative to do so. This also stems from the type of structure on which the organisation is built (as little hierarchy as possible, functional organization, development in directions taken by everyone).
- But there’s another factor: the Igniting Leadership development program.
Igniting Leadership
This program includes:
- new leaders,
- more experienced leaders and
- people with leadership potential.
It is a 2-year program, where participants have the opportunity to address topics such as:
- empathy,
- listening,
- being a leader without formal authority,
- motivation,
- ambiguity management and others.
In these sessions they address real situations they encounter, difficulties and structured models of approach, with an emphasis on practice – they can use a particular tool the next day.
Skills development is also supported over time, with classroom sessions followed by real-life practical applications uploaded to the online platform. This platform also includes the facilitator, who gives feedback, and colleagues can learn from each other’s experiences.
We are still very much in the early stages of leadership competence in Romania. Some of the biggest barriers I’ve noticed are:
- lack of desire for self-development and
- self-sufficiency (I think I know, when in fact I don’t even bother to check what the standards are and what’s new in my field).
Fortunately, Accesa has managed to keep and encourage an open attitude towards soft skills and leadership topics – they understand why these skills are needed and people are actively working to increase these skills. It is one of the most open organizations in this regard of those I have worked with over the years, and the impact can be seen in people’s motivation and sense of belonging to an honest environment.
In the IT area, which is a crucial sector in Romania, we are dealing with extremely intelligent, very logical people with a lot of training in technical areas. All the more reason to support the development of skills to grow people and teams – we don’t persuade people in these areas with manipulative techniques. They need authenticity from people in leadership roles and leaders capable of leading teams in the right directions. Today, in3 months time, in 2 years time.
Monica Dumitrescu, Consultant, trainer, performance accelerator