What working for free taught me about leadership
Over the course of the 12 months that I worked on Junction as lead of marketing I had the pleasure of working with many super ambitious people. The marketing team that I led grew organically as the year passed by and tasks ramped up. Some people came and went but for the most part the team stuck and grew together. Although at the beginning of the year I was new to the marketing world, the biggest challenges of the year were leadership challenges. Below I’ve gathered the biggest takeaways from the experience.
Leadership is not easy
It may sound fun to be a leader, but there is definitely a learning curve involved. People skip meetings, dont do what they say they are going to do, and life in general often gets in the way, especially when the team that you are leading are all volunteers. Deciding to be a leader also doesn’t make you one. Leadership is earned and actions will speak the loudest. Despite the challenges, taking on a leadership role big or small can be an extremely rewarding experience.
Over-communicate rather than undercommunicate
A simple one really. It is super easy to misunderstand instructions or misinterpret intentions and the result can be costly. Practice open, honest, and straight communication, it costs almost nothing and it will pay huge dividends in the long run. As you build trust and familiarity with your team your communication will naturally become more implicit, but until then over-communicate, over-communicate, over-communicate.
“The most important thing in communication is hearing what isn’t said”
-Peter Drucker
Many also mistake this advice to mean just blaring commands and more explicit instruction to team members or employees. Not quite, that would be called micro-management. Drucker has been quoted as saying good communication is hearing what isn’t said and that is very much the truth. As a good leader it will be your responsibility to not only speak clearly but to listen intently as well.
Figure out what drives your team members
To unlock the full potential of every member of your team: A) figure out what their motives and goals for the future are and then B) do everything you can to help them reach those objectives by giving them relevent experience in their role in the project. This was probably one of the most significat personal learnings from the entire year. For the Junction leadership team this lesson was promptly learned. When you don’t have a salary or other perks to provide you quickly realize that people won’t stick around unless you can provide meaningful experience that helps them reach their personal goals. And this is just as it should be, you don’t want people on your team that are there just to collect a pay check.
Don’t waste time on the wrong people
If you realize there is no postion or role on your team that can help a given individual forward in their own personal growth or goals, pass on them. That person is not the right person for your team and you should not waste any extra time or effort on forcing them “to fit”. Sure it may mean more work on your plate in the short term but you will be saving yourself from a world of trouble later down the road. This lesson was the greatest challenge that I faced while working on Junction. I learned the lesson too little too late and by then things had gotten much more complicated and hairy to solve.
Your people are your biggest asset
In the end, it’s very difficult to get anything done alone and a strong team will be your biggest asset. It won’t be easy to build up that asset, and that asset will need constant attention but the payoff will be worth it. Don’t take your team for granted and don’t be illusioned in thinking that they are there to serve you, reality is quite the opposite.
Leadership takes practice
Some are born with qualities that give them an uppperhand in becoming a good leader but no one is born a leader. Good leadership is learned and the best and quickest way to do that is through experience. Keep your head up, eyes and ears open, and leave your ego at the door.
This is a 5 story series about my journey as Recruiting Team Member and later Head of Marketing for Junction, the world’s most exciting hackathon. Read the other stories:
