#592 How to look for leaders you can learn from

Sarah Ellis (0:00)

Hi, I'm Sarah. And in this Squiggly Shortcut, I'm going to talk about how to look for leaders that you can learn from.

So I was reflecting a bit on progression in a squiggly career. And of course, we want everyone to take ownership and create not wait when it comes to your career. No one should care about your career more than you do. But at the same time, we know that no one succeeds in their squiggly career by themselves. We need to surround ourselves with the right people, people who will challenge us and people who we can learn from. And so I was thinking, well, how do you find those people? What are some of the criteria that you could perhaps keep in mind as a bit of a filter? And also, what do they not need to be? So here's what I came up with. I hope you find it helpful. First thing, look for leaders who get stuff done. I think in any organisation in the midst of process and politics and too many priorities and not enough time, you can spot those people who seem to be able to cut through all of that, cut through the complexity and they deliver. Like they get results, they manage to make things happen. And typically, if you go and work for someone or work with someone who is like that, they will help you to be able to do the same. And that's definitely been my experience. Like the best leaders I've worked for, they were brilliant at getting stuff done and then they helped me to do the same. So my outcomes and my achievements in those roles were so much better because of that. Number two, do they have humility?

No leader is perfect. I'm not looking for a leader who is perfect because those people don't exist. I want to hear someone who says that they don't know. I want to work with people who are happy to share that they've made mistakes or that they've got a bit stuck.

I also want to hear leaders who credit their teams and who are interested in asking questions of their team. They're curious about what their team thinks. They don't pretend to or feel any pressure to know all of the answers. I want that humility. I want them to be confident and balanced with that sense of, it's okay to not be perfect.

Then number three, are they curious? Leaders who learn loudly, who ask really good questions, who spend time with other teams and don't get stuck in those silos. I think when you work with a leader who's got that natural curiosity, it has a real ripple effect. They are natural learners and then that helps you, that will accelerate your learning as a result. So I was trying to think about the best leaders that I've worked for who I feel like have really helped me to grow in my career. They all got stuff done, they were all humble, they'd all got that humility and they were all curious. What they don't need to be, one, the same as you. You don't need to look for leaders who you think, oh, I want to be exactly like them at some point in the future. Probably all of the best leaders I worked for were really different to me. A couple of them were much more extroverted than I am. Everybody's got different styles. We know there's no blueprint for a successful leader. So you don't need to just look for leaders who you think, although they're very close to your personality or your preferences.

Two, they don't always need to be the person that you work directly for, because the risk of that is that you go and work for this leader who is amazing, and then typically amazing leaders leave or get other opportunities because they're so good at what they do. Now, that doesn't mean you shouldn't go and work for those people, but they're not the only leaders that you want to look for. I once went to work for someone who was brilliant, and six weeks later, they'd got a new role. I was thinking, oh crikey, I've lost that leader. So you just don't want to put all your leader eggs, I guess, in one basket. So maybe also think about people in other parts of your organizations. Also don't get preoccupied by titles. It doesn't really matter where they are in an organizational chart. If they hit that criteria that we've just talked about, they're probably a leader that you can learn from.

If they're someone that people want to follow, they've got those leadership characteristics and traits. The final thing they don't need to be is brilliant at everything.