First published on LinkedIn on July 21, 2023
Leadership is an essential quality that helps organizations achieve their goals and objectives. It is the ability to inspire and motivate people to work towards a common goal. A good leader should possess integrity, empathy, vision, and accountability. They should be able to communicate effectively and provide guidance when needed.
As I embrace my leadership journey, I’ve been thinking about the leaders I’ve worked with, from my first job to the many roles I now occupy. The ones I most admire, hope to mimic and would’ve likely followed to the ends of the earth had I not desired to carve my path, all possess the abovementioned qualities.
I spent the first five years out of high school working in sales and customer support. Most of the leadership I encountered during this period had a “my way or the highway” attitude. Sometimes an authoritarian stance may be needed; however, from my experience, those who hold authority always seem to think this equates to being disrespectful and rude. I remember working at an establishment where the managers and owners would swear at the employees.
This devastated employee morale. Everyone started using their lunch breaks to deliver job applications or go to interviews. No one worked above what was required to get the job done. I remember I was stuck working a 16hr shift because a co-worker quit without any notice, and no one was willing to cover the change on short notice. I handed in my two weeks notice shortly after and never looked back.
I’ve had a less extreme but equally horrid experience with a leader who lacked direction. Goals were not defined, and it felt like he was making it up as he went along. He was also quick to lay blame and rarely discussed the way forward. Outside of work, great guy for the most part, but as a leader not so great. I’d rather mop the ocean than work with someone like that again.
Luckily those experiences were far and few, and for the past seven years I’ve been working with people who truly embody and take their roles as leaders seriously. In fact, the leadership at MaxSold is the reason I decided to write this article.
While I am not directly employed by them, they’ve done an excellent job of making me feel included, providing guidance when needed and supporting me on my journey. I’ve become not just a better software engineer because of them, but a leader as well - a title I now feel comfortable embracing.
So how do we achieve the MaxSold magic?
Of rather, how can I? Since this is more of a letter to my future self.
1. Hire people, not resumes!
A core lesson I see recurring as I study other leaders is that skills are teachable, but personality isn’t.
The really good leaders know how to strike a balance and MaxSold seems to have the formula. When Jon Lenton retired I made up my mind that if Konstantin Loutsenko (aka Kos) wasn’t the type of leader I’m willing to follow I’d terminate my contract. Now I think I like Kos more than I did Jon (sorry Jon lol), and I loved Jon!
Since Konstantin’s transition, the company has made some great hiring decisions that have made working with them even more enjoyable; Darin Lee, Ania Rosianowska, Andrew Dicker and Raj Karan to name a few.
2. Mutual respect and open communication
A few months ago I had a meeting with the leadership of another one of Kalpa Services Inc’s clients who made it clear that I’m “reporting to the [insert title] of a [insert valuation] company” in response to several communication issues we’ve been having, which to this day have not been resolved.
At that moment I remember thinking, “Russ Patterson runs a company 4x this size but if I shoot him an email or Slack message I’m sure to get a prompt response”.
Egos and titles have no place in true leadership. Patterson’s and the entire leadership team’s attitude illustrates that a leader’s time is not more valuable than that of their team. A real leader understands that every individual contributes to the overall success of the organization. Hence, they value each person’s time equally and ensure that their actions reflect this understanding. Leaders like Patterson comprehend that leadership is not a title, but a series of actions that inspire, respect, and cultivate a thriving team and organization.
If more companies understood and embraced these core principles into their culture I’m sure that they’ll be able to retain good talent and thrive like MaxSold.