Recently, we organized an open discussion with the senior engineers in our department to have an open leadership conversation to share our challenges, and best practices as seniors.
Recalling my previous years, one of the struggles I faced when I was promoted to senior engineer was, "what are my roles as a senior?"
How do I delegate tasks? How do I balance between "taichi" of washing my hands off from responsibility vs. "micromanaging" by being too overbearing?
How do I deal with juniors who refuse to share information or their work, out of fears that I will hog their glory?
And how about development? Am I expected to teach them? How do I draw the line between "spoon-feeding" versus "hands off"? Can I just use the "sink of swim" philosophy and refuse to teach them, out of the excuse of letting them "develop faster"?
I'm still learning myself - I'm not qualified to teach or to coach. But I'm "expected" to; Now what?!
Perhaps, should I start adopting "grumpy old man" sentiments: Are these "new generation" of people so manja that they need us to hold their hands?
How do I manage my OWN deliverables, capability development and performance, on top of all this supervision burdens?
These were not easy questions, and none of them have straightforward solutions. No one provides coaching or training - so you kind of have to figure it out, through a constant battle of trial and error. Sometimes, I had some success (or at least I'd like to think so), and sometimes, I fell flat on my face, messed up bigtime.
I knew that if I had to go through these struggles, I'm sure there are others who are going through the same. And we can't leave it up to chance or the person's individual capacity to just "figure it out" and expect to magically have quality leaders.
I told myself, one day, if I ever be a manager, I would put in focused effort to facilitate the guidance & development of future leaders.
Provide the soft skills guidance I never had (and I wish I did). Be the change I've always wanted to see.
Well, that day has come. Time to walk the talk.
Hence we organized this session to discuss and iron out these challenges. But the plot twist was to do it as a team, not just individual 1-on-1. Create a community of practice to hear and learn from each other. Admittedly, I was super nervous at the idea, not knowing how it would turn out. Would it backfire and turn into a townhall mob? Would the seniors protest out of frustration of adding up more responsibility to an already heavy workload?
To my delight, the session went really well. Many of them shared some really good insights; some of the challenges they faced, and how they developed the courage to delegate and collaborate, without the awkwardness of competing with each other.
Some of my favorite highlights I heard from the team:
1. Delegation mindset: "if i micromanage the calculations / simulations, i am robbing the juniors from the opportunity to learn & do"
2. "Kita semua cari makan. Tak payah nak selfish" - Early on, discuss what is the expectations towards each other. Clear roles what to do. Mutually agree, who leads what, who claims what in performance appraisals. Be proactive; don't just wait for management directions.
3. Keep up a regular and consistent (e.g. weekly) habit of communicating with each other to build trust: To know each other better to understand their strengths, gaps, and capabilities so you can comfortably delegate.
4. Learn from our juniors too! Everyone has their own strengths
5. Allow them to opportunities to lead presentations (even our own tasks), while actively supporting them if they receive questions: this builds self-confidence AND trust with us, knowing they are supported.
A major lesson here is that Rank equals responsibility. When we chase that promotion, we cannot just think of our own selfish needs. As you rise, more people will depend on you. And it's up to you to take responsibility and step up.
You don't automatically become better leaders by rising up in ranks. Or else you will be repeating the same mistakes, only at higher ranks. You need to make a conscious choice to improve, to change, and to make a difference - not just repeat the cycle.
I learnt a lot from the session, and I'm glad everyone had that safe space to share these practices, to listen and learn from each other.
I don't know how effective it will be down the road, but I would like to think - and hope - that we have planted a small seed towards crafting a better tomorrow, insha Allah.
The Prophet ﷺ said,
"Each of you is like a shepherd, and each of you is responsible - and will be questioned - for your flock.
A leader is responsible for his people - and he will be questioned about them." (Al-Bukhari)
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