Leading from Behind

Have you been a leader at a young age? A class monitor, house captain, or sports captain. You may have been 10 or 16 years old or even younger. Take a guess on how young I was when I was a leader for the first time.

……… I was 32 when the opportunity came.

At 32, I was promoted to lead a service line and that was my first exposure to lead a team. Here was a team with whom I was working on various projects. Now suddenly they turned to me to lead them, looked at me for direction and for solving challenging or mundane issues. Over the years, the success reinforced on me what leadership was about. You have the best knowledge and grasp on the subject matter in your team. You are recognized as a thought leader your team looks up to for direction and you solve issues for them.  It worked for me. Things were going good.

Come 2012, I am asked by KPMG to join as director and lead the Climate Change and Sustainability team. I was replacing a person who had established this practice for KPMG in India. Although some members in the KPMG team knew me by name and had heard about me, I was a stranger to most. Many of you know this situation, when the news comes that the top guy is moving out. Members below start aspiring and then suddenly the news comes that there is a new guy coming from outside.

I was asked to join a team meeting a couple of days before my joining date. The team was discussing the growth strategy for the next 3 years and the business line partner felt that it will be good for me to be there and get acquainted with the team. For me this was my time to impress the team. 

The meeting started and one by one the managers started presenting the market scenario and which area they would like to focus on. I started participating by asking some questions. You know you are asking the right questions when the person at the other end is uncomfortable. By afternoon, I felt ‘mission accomplished’. I felt I had achieved the “Alpha Status”. 

I was in for a surprise at dinner time. The partner took me aside and told me “Santhosh – what you did today has rattled the whole team and they have started feeling insecure around you.  I would recommend that you step back for some time and try to get more confidence from the team”

I could not sleep that night.  I was trying to be right.  I was trying to tell the team I know it all and I can help you.  

The next morning I was at the airport and the previous day’s conversation with the Partner was still needling me and I needed a distraction. I picked up the book – Long walk to Freedom: by Nelson Mandela. In the book he writes that it is better to lead from behind. The more I read, the more I felt the appropriateness of the same in the juncture that I was. I decided to take that learning and apply the same in my leadership direction. I made some rules as to how I would lead from behind.

It took almost 2 years for me to establish the trust with the team. But the next 7 years have been a very fulfilling run. Although “Leading from Front” is synonymous with leadership styles, I realized that my stepping back and the style to lead from the back was the right step with my team.   

Have you tried to teach a kid to cycle?

You have to run holding the cycle for some time.  It is tiring, but it is important to get the trust.  After some time, you leave your hold for a short duration without the kid knowing – you do that to test the kid. Then suddenly you find the kid is cycling all alone. For the kid, it is achievement and for you it is pride for the kid’s achievement and satisfaction for the effort. Trust me, leading from behind gets the same feeling.

I would like to conclude by saying – There is no silver bullet to what style of leadership will succeed. It is a situation, the team composition and the culture of the organization that have to be considered for you to chart what should be your approach. As I am venturing into a new role, I am sure I need to find a new leadership approach.