On Leadership: A Series
Part III: My strategies for growth as a leader

The path behind my apartment in Ann Arbor looking gorgeous as the seasons changed this past fall.

After sharing the fundamental shift in my leadership journey from a fixed to a growth mindset, I highlighted a few key leadership skills that I hope to continue to sharpen in 2024: flexibility, open-mindedness, empathy, and cross-cultural competence.

I recently co-hosted an episode of the Ross Business Beyond Usual podcast with Jeff Domagala, Managing Director of the Sanger Leadership Center, and Denny Lai, MBA2 Student Council President. At one point, Denny mentioned using the different opportunities at Ross to “flex your leadership muscle”, which led me to draw the analogy that one’s leadership journey is like working out – if you want to become a well-rounded athlete, you have to train all of the different muscles in your body to build strength. 

With this analogy in mind, there are three key channels through which I plan to continue strengthening my leadership ‘muscles’ during my time at Ross: engaging with Sanger Leadership Center programming, taking advantage of as many cross-cultural opportunities as possible, and practicing leadership behaviors in my personal relationships. 

This blog post is Part III of III in my series On Leadership.

In terms of engaging with Sanger, I’ve set out to complete the requirements for the Ross Leader Endorsement credential. I've participated in several programs so far, and one ongoing practice that I’ve taken away from Legacy Lab has been how to self-reflect with purpose. Some of the strategies include asking ‘What’ questions instead of ‘Why’ questions, being solution-focused and future-oriented, and keeping an open mind. To put these strategies into action, I’ve established a ‘Weekly CEO Meeting’ with myself, where I set aside 30 minutes to journal and reflect on the week past. In the coming months, I also look forward to continuing to engage with Sanger via 1:1 leadership coaching, where I will design and run experiments (as prescribed in the Michigan Model of Leadership) to focus on my leadership development areas. 

Next, given I'm looking to pivot into a role with global scope, one of my key goals for Ross has been to participate in as many international/cross-cultural opportunities as possible. To that end, I have a few exciting opportunities in the pipeline: first, I have joined the International Investment Fund to learn the nuances of doing business in Emerging Markets. Then, later this spring, I'll be participating in a short-term exchange program at the Stockholm School of Economics. Beyond those endeavors, I hope to participate in an international Multi-Disciplinary Action Project (MAP) and plan to study abroad for a term during my second year (hopefully in France or Italy). In each of these experiences, I will be curious and open-minded about cultural norms and run experiments to devise strategies to take CQ Action in multicultural contexts. 

Finally, practicing leadership does not have to be confined to academic, professional, or extracurricular situations. At the end of the day, leadership is really all about interpersonal skills, so I have begun to make a conscious effort to practice those skills within friendships and other personal relationships. Being an active listener, having tough conversations, and negotiating are all key parts of friendship. I have become much more empathetic and aware of friends’ needs and personal styles. For instance, I know that one of my friends has a really hard time speaking up for herself when she is uncomfortable. Instead of viewing that as a weakness, I find ways to make her feel comfortable voicing her opinions. When ‘negotiating’ with my partner, I think about his feelings and what he really wants out of a conversation so that we can most effectively come to an optimal solution. Practicing flexibility, empathy, and open-mindedness with people I know and love offers me another safe space to continue to develop as a leader.

When I think about my future beyond Ross, I know that I want to leave a legacy of being a leader who empowers others to bring out their best, especially across cultures. As a strategy consultant with a global scope, I’ll need to work effectively with different organizational cultures across clients and geographies. I look forward to carrying forward my practice of self-reflection on my leadership journey, and continuing to lead flexibly with an open mind, empathy, and cultural intelligence. 

After your own self-reflection and identification of leadership development areas, I encourage you to take time to chart out some strategies to sharpen your leadership skills in 2024. Take advantage of the resources available to you - whether that's through Learning & Development offerings at work, trying something completely new and out of your comfort zone, or simply through practicing leadership behaviors in your interpersonal relationships. After all, leadership is a journey, and the only way to round out your toolkit is to put your skills to the test across a variety of situations.

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