Taking time to celebrate success is part of good leadership
What have you learned about yourself as a leader through the Leadership Health journey?
I have learnt that I am very hard on myself and need to relax a lot more, but the greatest lesson has been that I don’t celebrate success enough, given my very high standards and achievement orientation. This has been something of an eye opener, given the focus I put on getting things done and fixed. When we fix or achieve something I don’t spend too much time celebrating, but rather I tend to move very quickly to focus and to solve the next issue/challenge.
This lesson has been particularly important to me because our team members are different. Some of us need a lot more appreciation and recognition than others do, so it’s important we celebrate the big and small wins, and show appreciation for our people.
Lastly, I have also learnt that I am very receptive to feedback, very eager to continue to learn and make a difference in the lives of other people and the wider community.
How will you maintain your leadership health?
I am conscious that the world is evolving and leadership is a journey with no end in sight. As such, I will try to remain focused on how I am showing up every day both at home for my family and at work with my colleagues, and how my actions (both positive and negative) impact those around me.
To maintain this, I will constantly make it a point to train my mind to focus on taking breaks, focus on the things that are important to me and the team while trying to cut out the things that are not adding value. Reaching out to other people for help will be equally important for me to remain focused on being better and driving change.
Lastly, taking time out to go for a jog, play tennis or phone-free time, especially with my family, are things I will continue to do a lot more of.
What does healthy leadership mean to you?
Healthy leadership to me means, first and foremost, being aware of your responsibilities as a leader, and how you as a leader are creating an enabling environment for both you and the people you lead to achieve shared goals.
What is important is recognising how you as a leader are naturally wired, and how this impacts you and those around you. With this established, you can adjust how you interact and discharge your duties as a leader, while being conscious of your team members’ personalities.
The other important thing about healthy leadership is creating a safe environment for people around you to give feedback, and how you equally give feedback. We should recognise the importance of stepping back and taking time off for much-needed rest, both for the leaders and those we lead.
Lastly, healthy leadership to me means being able to trust your team: allow them to take decisions independently, and allow for intelligent failures that we can all learn from.
