Episode 19-21: Reflections on Developing Leadership Skills in Aspiring Young Professionals

November 7, 2024

Last week, I attended a gathering where a friend asked me about the biggest reward I've experienced in my 20 years of coaching students on case teams. My response usually emphasises the growth of students' soft skills. However, as I reflect on this chapter of my career with retirement from teaching approaching, my answer has evolved. This time, I found myself placing a greater emphasis on the growth of leadership skills. The longer I coach and prepare for the next chapter, the more I recognise that leadership skills are the most important soft skills, closely tied to all the other skills the students develop. Inspired by some of the top leadership voices on thought leadership on LinkedIn, I plan to focus on this topic in the upcoming weeks of the newsletter.

I would like to start this journey by highlighting four key elements that students need to cultivate to become strong future leaders. Although these elements are simple in concept, they require significant effort to develop and maintain as students transition into the workforce. When my teams begin working together, I often emphasise teamwork over content. During the team selection process, I ask candidates what role they usually take in a project group. More than 95% of the time, they respond by identifying themselves as a leader. When I probe further, asking what they mean by "leader," they typically describe it in terms of managing the group.

As we initiate the team-building process, I focus on the following four elements:

1. Speaking up and expressing your opinions.

2. Being flexible and willing to take on different roles.

3. Letting go and asking challenging questions.

4. Respecting your teammates.

The first two elements are integrated into the training process I encourage, while the last two are a result of that process. If students master this approach, they will enhance their ability in each of these areas.

Speaking Up and Expressing Your Opinion

I often describe case solving as a full-participation, full-contact sport. Teams are not only required to complete the work but also to gather everyone’s opinions on the issues presented in the case. It is essential to hear everyone’s thoughts, and it is perfectly fine if those thoughts clash. The diversity of ideas and differing perspectives enhances the value of the proposed solution and the details surrounding it.

Being Flexible and Willing to Take on Different Roles

When I build a team, I aim to create the best combination of skills for the specific focus of the competition, drawing from the available pool of candidates. Political factors are also at play, as I try to balance the necessary skills while allowing as many students as possible to benefit from these exceptional opportunities. While there is a plan for the roles that each student will take on, flexibility within that plan is crucial. Some cases may present opportunities that better suit certain students' experiences, and team members need to be flexible enough to recognise and embrace these changes, as they can improve overall performance.

Being Able to Let Go and Ask the Hard Questions

In case solving, this can be challenging since time is often limited to complete the required tasks. According to my process, which I described in an earlier newsletter, discussions about the solution occur first as a team after some individual reflection on the problem. Thus, the team process begins with the need to ask difficult questions.

Respecting Those You Work With

While many of my team members become friends, it is not a requirement. Some of my most successful teams are not necessarily "friends" but rather respect each other enough to stay in touch from time to time. They maintain a cordial relationship during social events. A lot can happen in the case resolution room that tests emotions, and this can continue into presentations and debriefs. Building respect takes time; it must be earned. Conversely, an individual’s actions at any given moment can negatively impact this respect.

November 15, 2024

As I continue my journey of helping aspiring young professionals develop their leadership skills, this week I want to focus on the importance of speaking up and expressing opinions. In the classroom, particularly during case-solving exercises, I often notice that only one or two original ideas are presented, quickly followed by suggestions to either move forward with those ideas or adhere to the status quo.

Why Does This Happen?

During debriefs, especially at the beginning of the learning process, many students share that the initial ideas are the only ones expressed in a group of three or four members. In an effort to provide at least three alternatives, they combine the original ideas with variations of the status quo. When I delve deeper into this issue with team members, I find that one critical step in the process is often overlooked. Each member is expected to come to the discussion with their own ideas and potential solutions. However, many fail to speak up and share their thoughts. The reasons for this range from feeling intimidated by the ideas of others to shyness and a lack of confidence in their own contributions.

Additionally, teams often reflect on their experiences and express that they tend to support one chosen idea while dismissing others. There is a palpable fear of having their ideas rejected, which is exacerbated if the ideas of certain team members are consistently favoured over others. As a coach, my role is to help each team member overcome these barriers.

One phenomenon I often observe, particularly among MBA students, is the tendency to "keep score." There seems to be an expectation that everyone's ideas will receive equal consideration. However, this is often not the case, which is a crucial aspect of developing leadership skills. My experience suggests that choices tend to become more balanced over time.

My Strategies

What strategies do I use to encourage students to speak up and express their opinions? The first strategy involves fostering team camaraderie. I encourage team members to participate in activities together, such as going out for drinks, snowshoeing, or bouldering. They don’t have to become best friends, but it is essential for them to feel comfortable with one another and start building trust within the team.

The next strategy, which I mentioned in an earlier newsletter, is to initially emphasise the structure and process of teamwork rather than the content of their presentations. This approach does not mean I completely ignore the content; rather, the debrief focuses on how the team collaborates and the structural aspects of their solution. As the team develops its ability to work together and manage leadership roles, the focus shifts to the content they need to produce.

As a coach, my role in these initial steps is to help the team get to know one another while holding back the urge to focus the debrief on the content. It is about guiding the team in discussing how they work together, setting team goals around the process, and determining how each member can add value.

 

November 22, 2024

In Part 1, I discussed four key elements that can help aspiring young professionals develop leadership skills, which I supported as a coach in my case-solving teams and classrooms:

1. Speaking up and expressing opinions.

2. Being flexible and willing to take on different roles.

3. Letting go and asking challenging questions.

4. Respecting teammates.

Last week, I covered some techniques I used as a coach to help them develop these skills. This week, I want to focus on the methods and activities the coach and student can use to foster growth.

Speaking Up and Expressing Opinions

This process begins with the coach or instructor creating a safe environment—one that accepts failure and emphasises personal development. Patience is crucial for everyone involved. Based on my experiences, students can develop this skill, but they need to do so at their own pace.

In my week-long intensive case-solving course, we primarily promote speaking up through feedback. Students are rewarded for providing feedback generously. At the beginning of the week, they tend to be gentle and positive in their responses to classmates. However, as the week progresses, they come to realise that solely positive feedback does not foster growth. Through discussions with their peers, they understand the importance of constructive criticism in helping one another improve.

The remarkable aspect of this process is that the ability to express opinions extends beyond the classroom to other discussions and problem-solving situations. By the end of the course, students not only learn to speak up but to build the confidence to not only offer and receive feedback that promotes growth but also to speak up when they are resolving the case and as we de-brief the solutions as a class.

Being flexible and willing to take on different roles

The process begins with the coach and instructor creating an environment that encourages team members to take on different roles. In team settings, I often start by rotating team members through various roles, specifically speaker positions. This approach focuses on fostering experimentation and prompts the team to have a brief discussion about roles before diving into a case. One key question I encourage them to ask is whether anyone's experience can provide an advantage to the team and how the team can change up the roles to take advantage of the opportunity. Teams tend to develop habits, and I believe that asking this question can help disrupt those patterns. I must note that my most successful teams have done this well.

Letting go and asking challenging questions

This is undoubtedly the biggest challenge. As a coach, modelling behaviour becomes crucial. I frequently receive comments from members of my case-solving team that the most consistently challenging questions they encounter during their experiences come from me and their teammates. By demonstrating this behaviour, team members recognise its importance for their growth, and these students begin to incorporate it into their own actions.

My teams usually consist of one or two experienced members and one or two "rookies." One of the roles of the experienced members is to act as mentors. As mentors, they also model this behaviour during team interactions and in our post-competition debriefs, which is valuable for personal growth.

In the classroom, modelling the asking of challenging questions is more difficult, but students have noted its importance for their development in comments on tools like learning logs.

Respecting your teammates

This situation largely depends on the team members. As a coach, it’s crucial to establish a safe learning environment to foster their development. It is important to note that teammates do not need to become friends; however, they must respect one another.

Consider the story of two teams. The first team, which competed successfully two decades ago, has not spoken to each other since that time. Yet, when I occasionally talk with them, they often mention that they respect each other’s opinions while working on tasks. In contrast, the second team completely fell apart during the competition due to a lack of respect for one teammate from the others.

I would like to highlight a team that did not have a great opportunity for development before the competition due to unforeseen circumstances. It was fascinating to observe how this team grew in terms of friendships and respect while working on a case-by-case basis. As they learned to trust one another and improved their interactions, our debrief discussions illustrated how building respect among team members contributed to their better performance case-by-case.

This serves as a reminder of the importance of respect in teamwork.