Posted on No Comments on And finally… On Aurora and Leadership

And finally… On Aurora and Leadership

It’s been over a year since I started the Aurora programme so I feel like it’s time to draw this chapter to a close. I’ve talked about my Aurora experience and making the most of the programme so for my final Aurora post, I wondered if I could sum up how I see leadership in the wake of the course and how it relates to me now.

Leadership is… self understanding

To lead well is to know yourself, you strengths, your limitations, your values and with that information give a genuine account of yourself and your actions.

What does this mean to me? I’m very aware that I’m not great at reading myself so this is an area that I’m working on. I find that whilst I still struggle to define things, I’m beginning to notice when I see something that is a core part of my nature. It’s as though shining a bright light doesn’t help, but I can now spot when something glimmers.

Leadership is… reflection

The ability to look back at your past experiences, learn from them and make improvements for next time make for a good leader who progresses, rather than repeats the same mistakes or doesn’t learn from hindsight.

What does this mean to me? During Aurora I did a lot of reflecting on what we’d learned (most of it for this blog) and I’ve been able to carry on that reflection into other things such as my HEA/PRiSE application. I’ve not yet built it into all my work activities, but I do a end-of-week diary which is great for capturing things in the moment and refining this practice.

Leadership is… confidence

Even the most put-together people have self-doubt and struggles that you might not see. Confidence is in the “feel the fear and do it anyway” moments, not just the “I can do this” ones.

What does this mean to me? Seeing “behind the curtain” of some very competent people made me realise that anyone can feel imposter syndrome. The act of being open about these fears is one way that we can help empower others, and build up their resilience in the face of their own uncertainties.

Leadership is… knowing when to take action

Sometimes a leader needs to take decisive action, and others times they need to escalate, or hold their nerve and wait things out. Knowing which route to take is something that comes from experience, but can be the sign of a good leader.

What does this mean to me? The Aurora experience taught me that even though I have no official leadership responsibility in my role, I can still step up and take the lead when I feel it’s appropriate. I have knowledge and expertise that gives me a certain level of authority on some things and since the course I have acted on that on a few significant occasions. This has given me examples to use in interviews and the confidence to start to see myself as a leader.

Leadership is… networks

Leaders don’t spontaneously form, and they don’t manage to do everything alone. We learn and shape our leadership in context with other people and so having networks where we can share experiences and offer advice makes us better leaders.

What does this mean to me? Aurora gave me an instant network of colleagues across various universities and even after the course I continue to meet with my mentor, my Action Learning Set and other Aurora Alumni. Whilst the onus is on me to find my direction, I know I can reach out when I get stuck or hit a problem. Likewise, supporting others with their problems helps me learn about perspectives that I might not be familiar with and builds bonds between us all.

Leadership is… adaptive

A career in leadership is not linear and is not a fixed state. External factors (family responsibilities, work changes, health issues) can impact our ability to lead and we can also choose when to step up and step back from responsibilities.

What does this mean to me? Thanks to Aurora I feel better equipped to manage changes that are out of my control, and know that managing my workload and my own expectations is part of handling my career.

Leadership is… not a thing

There is a school of thought that leadership is a construct that doesn’t stand up to scrutiny and that teaching it is perpetuating this myth.

What does this mean to me? It proves that we should question everything!

Leadership is… a journey

It’s cliched to call any experience that transforms us “a journey” but we shouldn’t be thinking of leadership as “one and done”. It’s how we continue to conduct ourselves through our career, in a way that is authentic, even if what that means for us changes over time.

What does this mean to me? I’ve never been one for lofty ambitions but if Aurora has bought one thing home to me, it’s that aiming for something is not pointless or self-indulgent, it’s a way to guide yourself through your career.

Looking back at my first Aurora post on feeling lost in the woods I realise that whilst there will always be many things that are uncertain, there are things I can do and things I must learn to accept.

To continue the metaphor, I’m now better equipped to head out into the forest, thanks to the lessons and networks I have from Aurora. I can chip away at the things blocking my path by shadowing colleagues and taking on additional responsibilities to build up my knowledge of my destination role. I also understand that if I want to (or have to) change direction I can still use what I’ve gained to help me get there. I’m starting to step out into the forest with greater purpose, a goal in mind and a network to support me.

Forests aside – I can safely say Aurora has been a important career experience for me and I think what I’ve learned will stand me in good stead for whatever lies ahead.

I hope you’ve enjoyed reading my Aurora blog. Please feel free to comment on any of the posts with your own thoughts on the topics.

Posted on No Comments on Capital at Work

Capital at Work

I came across political capital as a work-based concept on the Ask a Manager site. Also called social capital, it suggests that we all have a metaphorical “bank” of good will with our colleagues. One of the commenters on that site phrased it like this:

“You build social or political capital by building relationships and establishing a good reputation and track record for yourself. This type of capital is your reputation, credibility, and value to the organization, which translates into influence and power to change things.

If you are a star employee, you build up lots of capital. So if there are things you want to see changed — whether for yourself, or on behalf of others — you can ‘spend’ that capital by advocating for change. And there’s a good chance that change will happen because the organization wants to keep you happy, or even because people think, ‘If Star suggested it, it must be a good idea.’ On the other hand, if you never get your work done, you’ll be seen as complaining. Even if you’re a star employee, if you argue about every little thing, you’re exceeding your capital and you may start to be seen as a troublemaker. For most of us, we need to pick our battles and decide how to spend our capital.”

CM – Ask a Manager comments section – 20 March 2020

It is a useful concept for understanding some of the hidden politics of the workplace. I’m sure I’ll come back to this at some point, but here are a few initial thoughts on how to build and how to spend your capital.

Building your Capital

You can build capital by generally being a trust-worthy and likeable co-worker:

  • Do what you promise, or communicate in good time if you can’t deliver.
  • Only say yes to what you can manage.
  • Say thank you and acknowledge good work.
  • Engage with colleagues respectfully

Even when things don’t go to plan, you can help mitigate that by being proactive, acknowledging the problem and trying to fix it. Going above and beyond occasionally may look good, but don’t over-do it as it can start to have the opposite effect.

Good ways to spend your capital

  • Advocating for others – especially those in minority or disenfranchised groups who don’t always get heard. They can also find it harder to build capital due to prejudice.
  • Suggesting improvements to working practices.
  • Challenging poor behaviours.

Social/political capital in the workplace is important at all levels, but especially if you don’t have much influence traditionally (through job title or position). Recruiting colleagues with more capital to join you in proposing a change may get you more traction than trying alone.

Read more on Social Capital on Wikipedia.

Posted on No Comments on Job Crafting

Job Crafting

Job crafting is something I came across at a LUBS Alumni session and I really liked it as a concept.

The idea is that everyone chooses to engage more with parts of their job that give them more satisfaction. Even two people with the same role will have executed it slightly differently. Giving people the scope to customise (within reason) their role to their strengths can increase job satisfaction.

An example might be two people working as receptionists, one is very sociable and finds value talking to people, bonding with colleagues over the front desk, and welcoming visitors. The other likes problem solving and is great at finding solutions for others. They are both valuable staff, and not only will they have job satisfaction from doing the things they excel at, the institution benefits as well.

My dad says about a job “if all of it was enjoyable, they wouldn’t pay you!” and of course there are always parts of a role that you might like less, or find more challenging. However allowing people to craft their role into something that is an even better fit for them, benefits them (improving retention) and benefits the institution by capitalising on each person’s strengths.

I don’t pretend to be an expert on Job Crafting but I may return to add more to this page in future. In the meantime, here’s a few links that might help your understanding:

If you have any experience or knowledge of job crafting that you’d like to share, please comment below.