Leadership at Shujaa
Shaping Leadership at Shujaa
As a Co-Founder at Shujaa I try to think of ways I can be an impactful leader. One question I often think about is what would it take to make a difference and still make our team feel like a family as it continues to grow?
Here are the thoughts that run through my mind and what I envision Shujaa would look like under good leadership. This is a dynamic blueprint and something that will evolve as we grow.
Two questions that run through my mind whenever I think about who a leader is:
- Is it someone who focuses on growth of the organization?
- Is it someone who focuses on the wellbeing of others that will eventually lead to growth of the organization?
And the second question always draws me closer to what I think a leader should look like (I am open to a different perspective) but that’s the leader I look forward to becoming.
Setting the Tone
Simon Sinek the writer of a book called “The Infinite Game” once said that “Leaders set the tone in an organization”.
Shujaa being an organization led by Co-Founders who come from different backgrounds and cultures have created an understanding of each other from diverse perspectives.
We have always set our tone to having each other’s backs and creating an environment where we can be open to talk about anything that really doesn’t just have to be work related.
We want to create an organization that feels like family. This is an environment where if you are going through something at home that is affecting your work or if you are going through a tough time/situation, you are in a space where you can raise your hand and confidently ask for help because you know your team is going to support you.
Retention and Certainty
As leaders at Shujaa we need to constantly remind ourselves that a slow steady growth in an environment full of good morale is greater than rapid growth that is only goal oriented.
Why do you say that? Someone might ask. We have all been in an environment where we have sat in meetings, where leaders have assured us that things look good and then the next couple of days after that a series of layoffs begin to happen.
In my opinion I see this happening because the leaders do not take the time to know their teams and understand what makes them the best version of themselves.
We need to create an environment where we are able to see and foresee anything that might have an impact on the organization and how it might affect our people, create assurance and a sense of security that everyday when they come to work their job is secured and we appreciate them for that.
Always Learning
One of the best attributes I really appreciate as Co-Founders is the hunger and ability to always want to learn something new. Just as we are all parents and understand that parenting has its challenges, let’s also remind ourselves that we can’t always be perfect and we will make mistakes.
There are times when we will not know what we are doing and it’s okay because we will have set up an environment where we can ask for help and openly admit we are stuck.
In the long run we will build relationships based on trust because the people working with us will realize that it’s okay not to know everything and asking for help is okay.
We also need to acknowledge that it will be hard to build trusting teams but we can consistently seek that even when we end up taking a few steps back, we just need to have courage and a positive mindset to keep going.