There are moments in life when one receives truly eye-opening feedback, be it personally, academically, or professionally. I have had such moments and I remember one of them. A few months ago, I was asked by my supervisor to lead a team in completing an urgent project. Under normal circumstances, it would have taken the team three months to complete. However, in this case, we were only allocated half the time. Time was of the essence and I was under much pressure. In the course of my working for the company, I had always aspired to be a team leader. The chance had finally come. I selected members whom I believed would be productive under pressure and commenced to work on the project.
After the first month, I noticed that I would quarrel with my team members over small issues. The project slowed down and I decided to hold a meeting with the team. They elected a spokeswoman who requested that I keep an open mind. In a polite and deliberate manner, she stated that the reason for the conflict was because my leadership style was not conducive to the present situation. The spokeswoman pointed out that I was being too bossy and ignorant of their ideas or concerns about the project. She finally requested that I consider a more suitable leadership style. This particular experience was quite shocking and unexpected. I learned that my idea of leadership was not what I had imagined.
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At the time it was given, I reacted negatively towards the feedback. I failed to see it as constructive criticism and believed that the team wanted me off the project. A few days later, I reflected on what was said and learned that in order to be an effective leader, I needed to start listening and communicating with the team members. Overall, the experience helped me enhance my leadership skills and consider different ideas that would be helpful to the project.
