Leadership

I have led various organizations and initiatives for over two decades, both professionally and personally. I have found that the best leaders are like the best parents. They give their teams the time each individual requires to grow and be productive.

I have managed various roles, including software engineers, user experience designers & researchers, project managers, system analysts, and design managers.

Career coaching and the development of others are one of my passions. Early in my career, I had the opportunity to be a founding member of a young professional employee resource group. As part of my responsibilities, I drove career development programs. Much of what I learned through those programs, I have been able to bring to my management style.

I believe that leadership is a skill that you can learn. Therefore, besides learning by experience, I relied on mentors and read as much as possible on the topic. A book I read called the Leader's Compass introduced the concept of a Leadership Philosophy, which you can read below:

Brian Lawrence’s Leadership Philosophy

If you ask 100 people what makes a great leader, you will get 100 different answers. What it means to be a leader and what makes a great leader is subjective however some traits and attributes stand out above others. I have spent much of my career attempting to learn what makes a genuine leader. I have learned from mentors, leadership books, and from my own mistakes.

This leadership philosophy was created to help articulate what my definition of a great leader is. The benefit of having this written on paper is to remind myself so that I can walk the walk while informing those that work with me.

The most important leadership attributes that govern me as a leader are trust, purpose, and passion. Trust within a team is the glue that holds the team together. Having purpose provides the fuel that enables satisfaction in your work. Passion is the hard work that creates success.

The following are the commitments I make to my fellow associates using these attributes as a guide:

Trust
  • I will try to set expectations for what I expect from you.
  • I will do my best to understand your expectations of me.
  • I will take 100% responsibility for my action and my team's actions.
  • I will be transparent with decisions.
Purpose
  • Purpose is the reason for why something exists. I commit to helping associates understand the company purpose.
  • I commit to following my purpose and helping others define and understand theirs.
Passion
  • Passion is the hard work, but hard work without direction and control is not sufficient which is why I view time as a vital resource; it is critical to focus your hard work and time on the right things. I will do my best to evaluate where I am spending my time to be as efficient as possible.
  • I will do whatever I can do to remove barriers to our progress as a team and your progress towards your goals and personal development.

With these attributes as a guide, the following are expectations I have for associates that work on my team.

Trust
  • Do your best to understand my expectations of you.
  • Do your best to set expectations for me.
  • Take 100% responsibility for your actions, don’t blame others.
Purpose
  • Do your best to understand the company and team purpose; please ask me questions if you do not.
  • Have a purpose for yourself. If you don’t have one, talk to me, I love helping people grow in this area.
Passion
  • Spend your time on the right things. If you aren’t sure what those are, please work with me to help figure that out.
  • Continue to learn - Tim Ferris once said that the opposite of happiness is not sadness, it is boredom. If you continue to learn, you will never be bored and always be happy plus you will improve yourself and as a result your life and our team!

A mentor of mine once told me that authentic leaders create more leaders, I embrace this perspective and strive to create more leaders. I will continue to improve this philosophy and my self by learning through every avenue which may include asking for feedback, reading, taking courses, and learning from experiencing.

Memorable Leadership Quotes

“Pick your associates well, back them fully, empower them with both accountability and responsibility, and they will produce far more than you ever will achieve on your own.” ~Michael Useem

“Do not wait to be told what to do. That is a disaster as a leader.” ~Bill Mahoney

“If you invest all available time in optimizing the initial plan, you never start.” ~Neil Patterson

“I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” ~Mary Angelou

“Skills are cheap. Passion is priceless” ~ Gary Vaynerchuk