Who Am I as a Leader?

While I consider myself an introvert, I am by no means a quiet person. Often, it just takes a little bit of time for me to open up and speak freely. I love a good talk and I am at my best when I can share my ideas through engaging visual designs. There’s great joy that comes from messing around with different artistic mediums, styles, and processes for all kinds of challenges. As a leader, I take great pride in maintaining a balance between aesthetics and function. As much as I love a good-looking project, visual design is no good if it doesn’t function as a purposeful communicator. This is where consistency in processes becomes important as they provide the logical reasoning for why certain decisions are made for functional design.

Leadership and What it Means

As American historian James MacGregor Burns shares, an authentic good leader creates community, support, and value by focusing on the real needs and efforts of their team members. From heightened value comes stronger motivation and creativity that can transform a team into an even better version of itself. I agree with Burns’ theory on leadership as I know from personal experience that many of my most memorable career achievements came thanks to my leaders’ awareness toward values that brought meaning to my work.

I define leadership as the consistent act of exhibiting enthusiasm, optimism, curiosity, confidence, and commitment. My definition of leadership focuses on the ability to facilitate a positive environment that makes people want to work without the worry of judgment. Leaders who promote open-minded and positive workplaces are what I believe to be the key to success because they embrace differences and failure in a way that adds value.

To truly see what issues are present and what the next steps may be, leaders must be open and comfortable with the idea of infinite possibilities. This may be done by actively asking questions, listening to multiple opinions, showing curiosity toward differences, and staying optimistic about the future. The moment minds become closed off and judgmental, leaders limit themselves to setting routine answers that may only promote stagnation rather than transformative innovation. The role of leaders is to also offer guidance and support to their people. As daunting as difficult challenges may appear, their demands can become more manageable when there’s a leader to rely on for help. This is even more so when leaders create a supportive workplace community that can share a wide range of skills and knowledge. Finally, leaders must be caring toward their teams. While meeting objectives is important for growth, it is imperative for leaders to first make sure of their team’s well-being. Caring for the mental, physical, and emotional health of their team is an act of commitment by leaders toward quality support.

Personal Idiosyncrasies

As a leader who is cautious of uncertainties, I make decisions when it is appropriate. I like to take time to check details before taking any action because it helps prevent unnecessary complications. Rushing into decisions may be more damaging and time-consuming than doing nothing for the moment. I am a fan of respecting one another regardless of hierarchy or status. Everybody is a professional with valuable skills, ideas, and experiences that are worthy of sharing. I understand that one may feel that their opinion is the best, but it is disrespectful to talk over others. When respect is lost, so is trust and confidence within our team to work together.

As a leader, I expect myself to:

• Be mindful of timeliness.

• Ask questions, regardless of how small it may seem. By exploring for information that can provide a richer context, I can broaden my perspectives and challenge familiar ideas for innovative thinking.

• Support for my peers and offer help whenever appropriate. If there is anything we are unable to accomplish or simply don’t understand, ask for help.

• Care for my mental, physical, and social well-being. It’s hard to balance work and life when so much can happen in the professional setting, but let’s not forget about our personal lives as well. It would be a shame to not live life when it can offer so much value to what we all do as human beings trying our best.

For others, I expect:

• Everyone to put effort into creating high-quality work. Asking questions and reaching out for help is always encouraged but that doesn’t mean every task can be handed off to another person to handle. Be a respectful team player and know what responsibilities you must carry.

• Encourage others to embrace failure and mistakes. While society may label failure as a negative outcome, in truth, it is an immensely valuable experience we all often fear. There is nothing wrong with making mistakes and failing projects. We’re not machines, we’re humans that are full of quirks and imperfections that bring a unique sense of unpredictability and creativity. Our team is here to act as a reliable foundation and offer support, so please, go out and explore all kinds of ideas.

• Don’t forget about health and well-being. While work is important, so is having fun and enjoying life. Take time to be with family and friends, go out and enjoy different sceneries, and have a moment to unwind and relax. Life should not revolve only around work. If leave can be taken, do it because that may be the one thing that prevents you from leaving your dream career.

My non-negotiables are:

• I have little tolerance for any form of disrespect as it only brings negativity and ruin.

• I am against behaviors that bring harmful competition, biases, and interactions to the workplace even if it’s allowed by industry standards. Over time, this can build distrust and severely hurt how teams work together.

• What I love and always encourage are creativity and fun. We all spend so much of our time at work and tasks, at some point, can become monotonous and uninspiring. I cannot emphasize enough how impactful creativity is on keeping work something you want to do for a long time.

In conclusion, my efforts aim for a balance between work and fun. Work, although important, doesn’t always have to be serious because that’s the accepted norm for the professional world. There needs to be a space for excitement, creativity, and fun for consistent motivation to do work. There’s no better role for building and facilitating a creative workplace other than a leader who’s in tune with their team. Without a good balance, burnout can easily appear and prolong the process of productive growth. I work not because I have to but because I want to.