Post Pilot Podcast Post: Lead

Geddit? I just did a podcast with my friends. Our very first, hence a pilot. Now this post, as a retrospect of my experience.

I had Saf and Azima on the line with me on an early Saturday morning (9am), all of us waking up excitedly, albeit hardly waking up before 10am on weekends.

The conversation topic was "Lead, Leader, Leadership. Apa tu?".

We started off discussing the concept of ownership at work. I thought it meant having goals AND roles in a project, a company.   Azima emphasised on "Sense of belonging", feeling that you are a part of something, and that your contribution is important to and for this something.  That led to the mentioning of the Satisfaction Triangle we learned a while back in a Change Management workshop. These values are redefined from the Maslow Theory of Needs.  4S = Safety, Significance, Sense of Belonging, Self-identity.  They seemed to be quite key in instilling sense of ownership to work, a project, a community, a company.

4S in the Satisfaction Triangle = Safety, Significance, Sense of Belonging, Self-identity.  

Conversation of ownership led to the topic of having the mindset and the spirit of "I made an impact OR I'm making an impact". But what helps nurture or retain this mindset?  3 validation sources come to mind: the company, the customer, and yourself.  Discussion came to the pondering of an own self belief that you are a part of something bigger, and your part is crucial in making things work.  Saf then mentioned a Self-determination theory: Competence, Autonomy, Relatedness.  That these could be key in driving and maintaining ownership and accountability at work.

Self-determination theory: Competence, Autonomy, Relatedness. This could be the drivers of ownership.

So what is a core to begin nurturing this kind of emotions or mindset? Trust.  Having and building trust is essential to begin sowing the seeds of ownership to a company, a project, etc.  And to be able to trust, you may require a strong growth mindset, and enable yourself to be open to failure.  One may want to feel safe by ensuring control over the relationship and ensuring trust is mutual, but in many circumstances, it is a leap of faith to give trust to a person first. Hope for the best, expect the worst.

Fun question: Across your years alive, are there memories where you know you are inclined to be a leader OR inclined to be a follower?

As we went down memory lane, we also questioned our understanding of the word "Leadership".   Azima quoted the observation among wolves, where there is always an alpha or a dominant wolf, which leads the pack but interestingly, from the end of the line.  So, have our understanding of "leadership" been rigid because we have experienced that a leader (e.g. class monitor in school) must always head most stuff, be the role model, lead the group? Although, all three of us tak suka (dislike) when there is an obvious or permanent "alpha" in a group/community.  Eh, then how does it work at work, as we would have our CEO, COO, Line Manager, what not?!

We ladies advise to not dim your light for anyone; lead within your locus of control; observe and self reflect, then discover wonders in your influence and leadership.  Learning and leadership are indispensable to each other, so do try it out!

Learning and leadership are indispensable to each other. - JFK

TL;DR: Conversational topic we covered, and you can reflect on:

1. What is ownership to you?
2. What is core in nurturing sense of ownership in you or in others who are with you?
3. Can you think of points in your life that made you realise you are a leader or a follower?
4. Is it because all three of us were first-borns that we have this tendency to want equality in leading, shared leadership?
5. Can you think of situation where a person is idolised or is always the dominant, alpha role in a group or community? How do you feel about it?

Watch our pilot podcast to get a feel of our thoughts, and comment if you relate or think otherwise.

p/s: Podcast is mainly in English, but may contain mixture of Bahasa Malaysia and even Mandarin (Bahasa Rojak, as we Malaysians call it).