I recall my time at construction work when I was leading, by happenstance, a renovation project at a Hotel. I had just started at that profession about 5 months prior. To put it briefly, I knew next to nothing about the work.
That construction work “leadership role” was when my note-taking really took off, as it was the only thing keeping me afloat. There was very little of pushing my own views into matters, because I had no experience. I was truly practicing the servant model leadership, because all I could do amid seasoned professionals was to shadow them with my notepad asking what do they need next and what should we prepare for. Then, I would coordinate between subconstructors and, what in Finnish we call, the “site master”, trying to match schedules and allocated people together. If you think construction workers are an easy-going and supportive bunch, think again. It’s largely a group of sleep-deprived, hang-over, or otherwise grumpy guys trying to get through the day hoping not get bothered – and boy, bother I did.
Often, that experience colours my perspective of project leadership. It seems impractical to others, it seems. Or maybe they don’t agree with my way about it, I don’t quite know, because it seems to vary a lot. It’s clear, however, that there’s always some friction, for example, between handling tasks myself vs. delegating them. They might feel I’m offloading my work onto them. It should be accepted that if everyone in the team don’t have relevant things to do and a reasonably clear idea of what it is they’re doing, maybe with a dash of why they’re doing that, the leadership is failing.
When I was studying music, we had bands and workshops. Every band had a leader on gigs. The common belief in the industry is that people rise to be leaders – or stoop low to be ones depending on your preference – and that it’s not for everyone. It was more of an ontology than just a belief. However, I suggested we would take turns. The workshop teachers in this educational setting could appoint the leaders of the band, which was an artificial setting compared to how the roles percolate in real-life. They were puzzled with my proposition. I explained that the school environment allows for experimentation so let everyone take a chance at leading the band; it’s a win-win situation: either they get over the threshold and find out they are adept at it – or at least can do it in a pinch – or they accept it’s a shit position they never want to get into and will oblige to the leader’s asks with gratitude for not having to lead the band themselves. We ended up taking turns as band leaders.
Often people think that suggestions for changes in protocols and practices come from a place of self-interest. I had been the leader in most of my bands so I wasn’t going for that. If there was any self-interest, it was mainly to challenge the common doctrines; if the bands really need leaders, if anyone could jump in, or if they would change their attitude having gone through the pain. I found out that all three were true to a varying degree.