Redefining Leadership: DeepThought — The Head of Quality Engineer Crisis
In a crisis, should you delegate and trust your team, or dive into trial and error yourself to lead by example?
Small Mistakes — Embracing Them as Opportunities
In a crisis, small mistakes are inevitable. These “small mistakes” may feel like setbacks, but they are also valuable learning opportunities. As a leader, it’s essential to foster an environment where your team feels safe to experiment, fail, and grow.
A small mistake doesn’t equate to failure; it’s a stepping stone toward improvement. By embracing these mistakes, you encourage innovation, resilience, and a culture of continuous learning. When approached with the right mindset, even the smallest misstep can lead to significant breakthroughs.
As the Head of Quality Engineering, it’s crucial to model this attitude. Show your team that mistakes don’t define their abilities — how they respond to them does. Empower them to take risks, experiment, and iterate, because progress often comes from trial and error.
Trial & Error — A Chance to Become Another Expert
In times of crisis, it’s tempting to rely solely on specialists when faced with unfamiliar territory, like a new technology or process. For instance, if you don’t know something about Docker, it might feel like the safest bet to pass it off to someone with more experience. But here’s the thing: trial and error isn’t just about making mistakes — it’s a valuable process that can lead to expertise in unexpected areas.
By diving into new challenges, even if you lack full knowledge at the start, you create opportunities to grow and expand your skill set. Each misstep along the way is a lesson that helps build a deeper understanding, which might transform you into another expert in the long run.
As a leader, this is a crucial mindset to adopt — not only for yourself but also for your team. When they see you embracing trial and error, they’re more likely to take calculated risks and develop their own expertise. So, rather than always deferring to the expert, ask yourself: How can this be an opportunity to learn, adapt, and ultimately lead with more knowledge?
Leading Up — Navigating Expectations and Building Trust
When you’re in a leadership position, one of the most crucial skills is the ability to manage your superiors’ expectations. Convincing them that your approach is sound, especially when it involves risk or uncertainty, requires more than just presenting facts — it’s about building trust.
To gain their confidence, focus on transparency. Rather than hiding potential risks, acknowledge them upfront and explain how you plan to mitigate them. Show that you’re not just reacting to immediate challenges but are thinking strategically about the long-term success of the team and the company.
It’s also essential to maintain clear, open lines of communication. Regular updates, honest assessments, and the ability to adapt will reassure your superiors that you’re in control of the situation, even if the path forward isn’t entirely clear. When they see your commitment to both results and the team’s development, trust begins to build, and with it, their support.
The Turning Point — Deciding to Push Forward or Step Back
After a crisis, leaders face a pivotal choice: push forward for the team’s sake or step back to focus on personal growth. It’s a balance between staying resilient for the team’s needs or being honest about the need to recharge and evolve for your own development. The key is recognizing when to prioritize the collective journey and when to take time for self-growth, ensuring that both you and your team continue to thrive.
True leadership is not defined by how you handle success, but by how you guide your team through the toughest moments and emerge stronger together. — MperMperPisang
