The Meaning of Leadership

Over the last decade, the world of work has changed as companies have become more global, and employees are diverse more than ever before in the 21 st century. To ensure success, I believe that I possess the following skills: 

Cultural Code Switching 

Irrespective of the country that you belong to, leadership is all about influencing others, and this can be achieved through directing, inspiring, rewarding, and giving people ownership of decision making, among others. In a multicultural world, the primary role of a leader is to influence people from project teams, client organizations, and supply chain partners that different political, institutional, and cultural backgrounds. This translates into a global mindset that I possess that gives me the ability to modify my behavior based on various economic and political systems to accommodate different cultural practices. This has given me the ability to understand how the global industry works and work comfortably in uncomfortable environments by building trusting and respectful relationships with people from different cultures in order to achieve the strategic business objectives of an organization. 

Information Technology Leadership 

Automation and artificial intelligence are becoming the norm, and the workplace and firms must respond with greater resiliency to dynamic business environments. Therefore, an organization must have robust structures in place to enhance processes. The cornerstone of any successful organization is the talent of the organization, and successful leaders must guarantee that they are providing a healthy work atmosphere so that they attract and retain the best labor force. I possess impeccable information technology traits as I can understand the effective role that information technology plays in driving and achieving business objectives. What sets me apart is my ability to innovate, inspire, and employ a visionary approach in solving business problems in a highly competitive industry. I also have a robust online following, and the human resource department can use this network from recruiting talent or for testing proposals and strategies both inside and outside the organization. The feedback received can be used to determine whether to implement new systems or employee referral programs in the organization. 

Emotional Intelligence 

To be an effective leader, I am aware that my emotions can drive emotions and impact people both positively and negatively. By applying emotional intelligence, I can acquire and apply knowledge from my emotions and that of others to build positive and productive relationships to ensure both individual and personal success. This implies that when I am faced with a problematic or stressful situation, I can guide myself internally by taking the necessary steps to make an informed decision. 

Application of Leadership Skills: Information Technology Leadership 

Two years ago, I was the acting chief technology officer for a startup company in Ethiopia. The company was looking to develop an application like Uber but working in the local Ethiopian market. Being a technology enthusiast, I offered my services pro bono after I was approached on Facebook. I help the company determine the functional requirements of the application (user stories, pricing algorithms, high-level milestone development, mockups, wireframes, and user acceptance testing) and matched them with the strategic business objectives of the organization. I also helped the organization in selecting the development methodology and the technology stack that was used in developing the application. I was also heavily involved in the post-implementation support of the application and the hiring of two technical support staff from Johannesburg, South Africa, to help ins supporting the needs of the organization remotely. Talent management and recruitment were achieved through LinkedIn when I examined my social media networks for contacts that could provide solutions to the challenges the organization was experiencing.