How Should You Lead: From the Front, Behind, or Alongside?

the BIR Management Committee under CIR Liway Chato

 
The UP Alumni Association recently gave me a Distinguished Alumnus Award for “Leadership in IT Development (Public and Private).”  That has inspired me to write about governance and management. I have written about travel and leisure, retirement and renewal, and health and longevity.

Let me start to write about leadership in this new category. The three directional phrases represent differing leadership styles. Leading from the front is directive, behind, delegative, and alongside, participative. To illustrate each, I use examples from my stints in different organizations.    

Leading from the Front

Directive leadership rests on a leader who provides clear directions, makes strong decisions, and communicates openly. Think of a military commander, leading his troops into battle. Not being clear may prove disastrous.

It may be less obvious, but the same thing is true in startups like  Megalink, the consortium of banks that first enabled members to share ATMs. AS GM, the Board gave me one goal: to launch ahead of BancNet, a rival consortium.

Since there were no such existing switches in the Philippines, I had to go to countries that had already succeeded in doing so. Their examples gave me enough information to lead from the front.

When we were ready, I presented a risk analysis to the Board. The system was not perfect, but no system ever does. I felt the risks were minimal and I included ways to mitigate them. They agreed with me. We launched ahead of BancNet.

Later we also became the largest consortium at 32 member banks.   

Leading from Behind

Delegative leadership requires that a leader empower people to take ownership and responsibility for their work. He/she acts as a mentor, coach, or facilitator. 

This type of leadership is best suited in industries that depend on its people’s talent, creativity, and innovation. Organizations in advertising, design, or product development are examples. 

I came closest to using this style as MD in SAP Philippines when we were introducing the end-to-end German ERP software in the country. The groundbreaking product had successfully powered leading companies elsewhere in the world.

The salespersons in the Sales Team have individual styles in covering territory and convincing organizations within it to make his/her quota. I was ready to help open doors, establish CEO-CEO relationships, and provide support and guidance when they asked.

It was even more so for the Technical Support Team. I did not come from the technical ranks, but I assured them of the technical resources. I discovered they needed moral support more, especially in managing conflicts with regional support teams.

Leading Alongside the Team

This participative leadership style emphasizes the team most. The leader works closely with members and there is much collaboration, shared responsibility, and consensus building.

Prime examples are non-profit organizations that usually include many volunteers, educational institutions that involve numerous constituents, or government agencies that handle large numbers of people.

In BIR, the IT group had a thousand people and worked with hundreds of consultants. When I joined them, they had already organized into implementation teams.

I was not brought in to stall their progress. I worked alongside the team leaders. I focused on working with top management to inspire the huge organization to embrace the impending major change. The system was successfully installed less than two years later.

The Most Effective Style

In American culture, organizations value individualism, efficiency, and results. As such, they may lean towards the directive leadership style. In the Philippines, we emphasize collectivism, group harmony, and relationship-building which may favor a participative style.

These are generalizations, however. Individual organizations within both countries may vary. In the end, the most effective leadership style is situational. It depends on a particular team's maturity and the nature of the work, not just organizational culture.

In SAP, for example, even if I practiced delegative leadership with the sales and technical teams, I led from the front with the marketing team. After all, I was the chief storyteller for a small company of less than 30.

As the chief marketing officer, I handed down clear marketing goals. I also clearly stated the messaging intended for each specific audience. The marketing team applied them to the recommended, using appropriate media.

There is not one style that bests the others. Different situations, teams, and organizations may require all three styles. The most effective leaders must have all three at their disposal. In other words, they must lead from all sides.