Leadership is a complex phenomenon that has been studied and debated for centuries. There are as many definitions of leadership as there are people who have tried to define it. Despite the numerous theories of leadership that have been proposed, effective leadership ultimately depends on the willingness and ability of leaders to positively impact and inspire followers. Through my experiences as a leader in various contexts, I have come to understand leadership as guiding people or organizations in a direction that creates positive change and moves them closer to achieving their goals and fulfilling their potential.
In my current role as a Division Manager at a large technology company, I lead a team of 15 engineers and product managers who are responsible for developing new features for our flagship software product. When I took on this leadership position a year ago, the division was struggling with low morale, lack of direction, and missed deadlines. The team members did not have a clear understanding of how their individual work contributed to the larger goals of the division or company. My first priority was addressing these culture and motivation issues through effective communication and goal setting.
I held one-on-one meetings with each team member to understand their strengths, career goals, and concerns. Based on these discussions, I identified three core issues hampering the team: unclear priorities and objectives, poor collaboration between functions, and lack of ownership over final outcomes. To remedy these, I implemented a new goal-setting process that included aligning individual objectives with division goals and explicitly defining how each person’s role supported the priorities. We also established weekly intra-team meetings for engineers and product managers to coordinate their work in progress.
I encouraged team members to step outside their functional silos and get involved in end-to-end product planning. For example, I had engineers shadow product managers during customer interviews to better understand pain points and requirements. I assigned cross-functional product development teams to foster collaboration. Providing transparency into the full product development lifecycle helped the team see the impact and value of their work to both internal and external stakeholders. These changes in communication and process helped boost morale by giving people clarity on how their day-to-day tasks aligned with strategic aims.
While these initial steps addressed some operational issues, a larger cultural shift was still needed. I believed autonomously empowered employees would be more invested, innovative, and responsive. To promote autonomy and ownership, I transitioned from a traditional hierarchical management structure to a self-organizing team model. Rather than allocating tasks individually, I worked with the team to define goals and priorities collectively. People could then choose the work they were passionate about and form ad hoc teams accordingly without oversight.
This required a significant adjustment in my leadership style from directing work to coaching the team. I focused on facilitating collaboration, clearing roadblocks, providing resources and feedback. Over time, the team became far more self-sufficient with minimal supervision. Productivity increased as people were more engaged in work they personally cared about. Employee satisfaction surveys reflected higher morale and motivation levels within six months of the transition. Strategy formulation also evolved into a collaborative process where everyone had a voice. My role shifted from decision-maker to advisor as the team learned to problem-solve internally.
A key lesson I learned was that empowering others requires trust in their capabilities and judgment. As a leader, letting go of micromanagement and control was a difficult adjustment. My natural inclination was to closely oversee processes myself. Empowering self-organization cultivated greater autonomy, innovation and resilience within the team long term. It pushed people out of their comfort zones to develop new skills and take ownership. This distributed style of leadership continues to serve our division well through dynamic market conditions.
While leading the transition to a self-organizing structure was challenging, implementing difficult changes for the greater good of the organization and its people was important for me as a leader. It pushed my own boundaries and helped me develop as an empowering coach who can effectively step back from day-to-day tasks. Building trust takes time, but that trust enabled my team to work independently through crises like the recent pandemic. They were able to adapt processes and priorities proactively to new constraints with minimal oversight. Overall, my experiences developing this high-performing team and navigating change have strengthened my abilities as an adaptive, empowering leader.
Throughout my career thus far, I have consistently sought new leadership opportunities to further develop my skills. In addition to managing the engineering division, I have taken on rotational roles leading cross-functional enterprise projects. For example, last year I spearheaded an initiative to streamline our development platforms and tools globally. This required influencing diverse stakeholders, engaging technical and non-technical audiences, and managing matrix teams across business units. The scope and impact of the project gave me invaluable experience coordinating complex, multi-year transformations involving hundreds of employees. At each stage, from planning to execution to stabilization, I focused on clarity of vision, building consensus, and change management.
Another leadership development area I have focused on outside of my day job is mentoring and coaching. For the past three years, I have volunteered as a career mentor for students in my university’s engineering program. In this role, I provide guidance on professional skills, networking, internship/job searches, and post-graduate career paths. Mentoring aspiring professionals has strengthened my abilities to connect with people from varied backgrounds, listen empathetically, and share knowledge to help others progress in their journeys. I also actively seek feedback to continuously improve my mentoring approach.
Moving forward, I aim to enroll in an MBA program to further bolster my leadership qualifications for taking on expanded roles with greater scope, complexity and strategic impact. The curriculum will help me better understand business fundamentals, develop new frameworks for decision-making, and gain exposure to different leadership perspectives through diverse class experiences. Beyond the classroom, I plan to actively participate in leadership programs, case competitions and student clubs to build my network while challenging myself with new initiatives. The mix of academics and hands-on leadership opportunities through extracurricular activities will powerfully complement my professional experiences thus far.
Ultimately, my career ambition is to become a General Manager leading multi-billion dollar business units. An MBA from [University] will provide me with the advanced management tools, global mindset and professional connections needed to take the next leap. Guided by an understanding of leadership as enabling others to excel and driving long-term positive change, I am committed to developing myself into an empowering strategic leader capable of managing complex organizations. Through continuous self-reflection and pushing past my comfort zone, I believe I can one day be entrusted with P&L ownership and molding high-performance cultures on an executive scale. The MBA will help actualize that vision and further sharpen my abilities as an adaptive leader empowering others to reach their fullest potential.
Andrew Stroud