Leadership for me has been a training in understanding human behaviors and how to enthusiastically encourage them to commit to a mission. I believe leadership is measured in one word – influence. As John Maxwell puts it and I paraphrase: “If no one is following you, then you are not leading”.
Leadership context matters as when the context is defined, then the purpose is clear. Leadership in various organizations differ based on the organizational goal and structure. If one is leading in a church that is voluntary based, the dynamics are different from leadership in the work setting where everyone is paid to deliver their duties. I have had experience leading in these two sectors being an employer of labor for nearly a decade and being a welfare secretary in my church. However, I have never led in the academic setting. The current Lagos Business School MBA programme has afforded me with the opportunity to explore leadership from the academic context.
The MBA programme is smartly divided into sub team within the students to enable them execute group tasks efficiently and provide a support group. Whilst I applaud this structure, I have never been one to volunteer to lead without first understanding the group dynamics and personality of individuals in my team. Prior to being nominated by my Group 3 members, I maintained this mindset getting to sincerely know my team members individually, assessing their strengths in subjects and different personalities.
In the past couple of weeks since we were mandated to form have a group leader and I was chosen; I have learnt that leading academic teams is a different ball game. The knowledge of the varied strengths, personalities, and reasons for being in an MBA programme play a key role in having great team dynamic. Whilst some are introverted and talk less, they shine forth when certain subject areas they are conversant with is discussed. Some others with family responsibility may not have the same enthusiasm towards meeting regularly and making small talk. All things considered; the role of a leader is to accommodate all, whilst bringing out the best in each individual towards a mission.
To ensure we meet tasks, I try to maintain an all-inclusive approach to decision making, ensuring that no matter how little the interest towards a subject matter is, every available team member lends their opinion no matter how inconsequential towards an end result. I’ve come to learn that to ensure buy-in, communication is necessary. I also allow for real family or business detours that naturally occur and can make a team member late or absent for a meeting. I do this without judgement to ensure that when they do get back to speed, they are happy bring in their best to the table.
It has been an interesting journey so far and I look forward to mastering this new dimension of leading teams in an academic setting. Thankfully, my Group Director is a Human resource practitioner, his expert knowledge would definitely come in handy during the duration of the semester.
