Tribute to leadership

By Sandhya

This blog was first published in INDUS, and STC India newsletter, in 2009. I’m re-publishing it here, because every word I wrote then still resonates with me now.

I reconnected to Rusi Brij through LinkedIn last year. He was my manager who introduced me to technical communication. He was in charge of marketing and publications in Sonata and called me to interview for the post of Technical Editor. I had never heard of that role before and he suggested that I try it out with an assignment. He felt that I would be suitable for the job with my combined background in Literature and Computer Software, rather rare two decades ago. I tried it out, liked it, and stayed on.

I was thrilled to connect with him and decided I’d call him on my next visit to the US, which was in June of this year. I hadn’t been in touch with him over the years and there was too much to catch up over email. On May 22nd, I got the sudden and sad news that he had passed away. He had cancer but most people didn’t know it. I never did end up calling him. Thank you, Rusi, for helping me determine my career. I wish I could tell you about STC and everything.

Rusi was a gentle soul and what I remember about him most was that he was a good human being. A valuable lesson in management that is rarely taught in classes. Leaders shouldn’t lose sight of it despite difficult times, changes, challenges, and threats. A lot of things can be learnt in B-schools, but the most important attribute of a leader – integrity – cannot be taught. That stays with you across jobs, people, and projects. Build it, maintain it, and it will stay with you regardless of organization.

The other lesson I learnt from him was to identify talents and skills quickly and provide the right opportunities. Too often, managers are caught up in their ego and do not cultivate leadership talent as they fear a threat to their position. With layoffs becoming commonplace, insecurity sometimes rules over good judgment while developing people. The mediocre or the sycophants rise more quickly, which is a shame.

I pondered over the knowledge I had gained from Rusi, but had not quite realized till now. I remembered a couple of my other managers who contributed a lot to my leadership development.

Rich Cahalan was the COO of Trillium in the US, where I joined as a Technical writer/Instructional designer. He gave me the opportunity to rise as a leader and provided me with the required authority and helped to remove obstacles in my path. A valuable lesson in fairness, where the fact that I was an Indian did not matter, and I eventually became the Director of Documentation and Training with a mostly American team, plus a few Canadians and Indians. Probably the most rewarding stint in my career so far.

Most of my initial management training was on the job by emulating all that I appreciated in Dave O’Brien, VP, and my next manager in Trillium. I learnt from him about the true importance of career growth through professional development plans, professionalism, creating a fun and rewarding work environment with high productivity, thinking out-of-the box, moving from operational to strategic management, and many other tips.

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After that, I was hooked on management and leadership, and continually strove to improve in these areas in various jobs, taking classes, and reading. Leadership is so abstract and dynamic that no one can really claim to have mastered it. I have had many managers in my long career, and have acquired many things from them—BKMs (best Known Methods) and WKMs (Worst Known Methods)—both form an important part of education.

For all managers and leaders—here’s a 20-point summary of the wisdom gleaned over the years:

  1. Be a good human being

  2. Be fair

  3. Have integrity

  4. Develop good judgment

  5. Discard ego if it’s blinding you

  6. Don’t be insecure

  7. Recognize talent quickly

  8. Provide or create the right opportunities

  9. Encourage career growth through Individual Development Plans

  10. Encourage professional development through training and industry activities

  11. Strike a balance between the individual, team, and company—you have a responsibility to all

  12. Cultivate good leadership

  13. Don’t encourage sycophants

  14. Don’t play favorites

  15. Delegate with authority

  16. Remove obstacles

  17. Be professional

  18. Create a conducive work environment—the rest will follow

  19. Be open to new ideas

  20. Continually hone your leadership skills

For everyone out there, a few final points:

  • Learn from your managers (good points and bad)

  • Develop your leadership skills irrespective of position. I recommend reading a book called, “You don’t need a title to be a leader,” by Mark Sanborn

  • Do recognise and thank good managers who have developed you or coached you. Management is often a difficult and thankless job, and some sincere (not sycophantic) appreciation can be motivating.

So don’t wait till it’s too late. Submit that idea. Make that call. Show your gratitude. Share your own tributes to leaders in the Manage the Docs LinkedIn community.