Sophomore Program Director Danny Smith has a busy weekend. His own team for the Entrepreneurs Club’s EIP Program is promoting a local start-up at a big event on Saturday and he is also serving as a mentor in the Husky Startup Challenge and a participant in Engineers for the Greater Good, a 72 hour business and engineering competition. Despite this crazy schedule, a weekend like this is typical for Danny. As a senior leader in the Entrepreneurs Club, he makes it a point to not just focus on the program he runs, but instead go out and help with every other director’s program. As a participant, he learns how each program works so he’ll be able to offer tangible suggestions to his manager colleagues. When Danny is an attendee, he doesn’t expect special treatment – he sits with everyone else and goes through the same learning. This attitude is the epitome of what I look for in an excellent leader: willingness to go beyond your own department and care about the success of the team as a whole. Danny’s desire to learn, help and be a part of the community serves as shining example for everyone in the organization.
I recently read a parable about a tribal leader who always stays in his compound at the top of a mountain and rarely comes down to meet with his people and understand their problems. This is of course the opposite of what an effective manager should be doing. Danny’s actions on the other hand represent a much better way to do things: be a mobile manager. These managers:
- Talk: go out and speak to the people you manage and their customers. Gain a deeper understanding for their lives and what problems they face.
- Learn: take what your people and customers say to heart. Go beyond observing and think about what you can learn from the people you manage.
- Participate: be a customer and use the services that your organization provides. You’ll quickly earn a better perspective on what your people need.
- Advise: provide tangible action items that the people you manage or other managers can use to exceed their objectives.
- Go Beyond: go outside your job description and appropriately provide input and participate in other facets of the organization.
Combined with other important qualities like clarity and respect, having people with a “mobile management” attitude is a great asset for any successful team… I’m glad to have one like Danny on mine.