The best advice I received as a new leader was very valuable. Back then, I had a habit of interacting in a very snappy, short and totally focused way. Because of this, I was a bit notorious because people in the office had to be briefed by their colleagues that I wasn’t in a bad mood or didn’t like them, but just interacted in such a short manner. This taught me that the emotion is just as important as the cause.
My idea of concentrating totally on the matter at hand vanished into thin air because something essential was missing: The relationship, the emotion. And that is exactly what is so important in leadership.
I only understood this elementary aspect of leadership back then, I’m still practising it today and it’s slowly, slowly getting better and better. This realization helped me to understand that effective leadership is not just about objectivity and efficiency, but also about interpersonal relationships and emotional intelligence. It is a continuous learning process in which I am constantly improving to find the right balance between task orientation and relationship management.