Association of Female Executives of Trinidad and Tobago

Dear Judette, I am twenty-one years old and recently started a new career at a communications firm. My boss has asked me to write a vision for myself for the next five years. It is the first time I am doing an exercise like this but one thing becomes clear as I write, I want to be known for a great leadership style. Do you have any tips?

La Toya Quamina
Chaguanas, Trinidad.

Dear La Toya,
What a way to begin your career! By defining what you want for your professional life for the next five years, "you are beginning," as leadership guru Franklyn Covey puts it, "with the end in mind."

Your question though is right on ball with what I have born witness to over the last three years as a member of the Association of Female Executives of Trinidad and Tobago (AFETT).

In the three years AFETT has been in existence, we’ve had some phenomenal leaders, with varying strengths. I’ve had the chance to observe them at work and one thing that I found linked them all was their passion to see the Association work. That passion manifested itself in different ways: one leader was more charismatic than the rest, another tended to burn the midnight oil more and was therefore a great administrator while another acted boldly and decisively when required.

At each step of the way their leadership style was exactly what we needed to be where we are today: the strongest professional female network in the country. All this because the leaders led. They showed commitment. And they engaged us.

The latter point La Toya I think is what matters most about leadership. Leadership Team = Engagement of that team. When you lead you’ve got to engage those that follow you. Leaders should talk. But they should also listen. As you go about developing your clear leadership style, whether it is charismatic, practical or otherwise, remember La Toya that you must try to seek answers, feedback & collaboration.

I’ve experienced this directly both in my firm as the principal consultant who leads a team of associates, and in a variety of my volunteer efforts as the project manager of 4 different teams. Mobilizing people is no longer a straightforward issue. Thank Goodness! People don’t snap to attention. They don’t passively fall into line. Threats do not work. Nor does intimidation. If it does, then it means you are leading the wrong people. The wrong team.

As you develop professionally, you’ll find it is your staff, your team, and the people that you work with who will become your everything. You will have to refine your techniques about getting them to focus on what really matters, and it should never be about the petty stuff: the politics, the personality issues (if it ever becomes about that then sign up for a course in negotiation, diversity management, emotional intelligence) When it comes to the core of the matter leadership is about spiritual management rather then micro-management.

Finally, La Toya I have found it useful to always have a clear vision about why a team exists. It will be the foundation for why you do what you do. So when you get your first team to lead, put some brain food towards figuring it out. Allow it to be clear, continuous and consistent. Then communicate it . Again and again and again.

By Judette Coward
Judette Coward leads AFETT’s research project the Top Five Companies for Female Executives in Trinidad and Tobago.