ExCo Insights
Ivgen Guner’s Leadership Lessons | ExCo Insights
ExCo Insights
In this series, we explore some of the most important lessons and insights from our executive coaches and mentors.
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KEY LEADERSHIP LESSONS
The first one is about learning to delegate, which will create time for you to see new possibilities for what you can achieve. I learned this earlier in my career when I was put in charge of a very large, newly created group. I felt mystified. All of a sudden my peers were reporting to me, and the expectations were very high. It was a very difficult transition from a line manager to a global leadership role.
It became very clear, very quickly, that I could not continue to perform all the day-to-day activities from my previous role. There was just not enough time in the day. I had to learn how to manage at a very high level. The only answer was to be very transparent, create trust in the organization, and lead by example. Once that trust and transparency were established, the possibilities to transform the organization and think of new strategies were endless.
“Once trust and transparency are established, the possibilities to transform the organization and think of new strategies are endless.”
It also required shifting the focus because I had seen some dysfunction—we were just wasting a lot of time doing many things that had no impact on the business. So we had to answer a number of questions: Why are we here? Can we clearly define our strategy? How can we scale? The goal was to create excitement around the new possibilities and bring people along on the journey. In the end, our function evolved from a simple finance function to a truly global business finance operation, and we became trusted advisors and partners to the business.
A second lesson was about how great leaders always see potential in their people that they may not even see themselves. That is how I learned to find my voice. English is my second language, so I’m very conscious of what I say, how I say it, and when I say it. It’s very easy for me to shy away from opining on any subject. Public speaking is especially hard for me. But as a leader, our people, our peers, our stakeholders, and our customers want to hear from us very often.
Early in my career, one of my peers told me that I can actually use my accent to my advantage, because people will pay more attention to hear what I say. That was an “aha” moment for me. And there was a time earlier in my career when I was thrust in front of a large audience by the CEO at the time. It was very last minute, and I could not back out. I didn’t have time to prepare.
But the CEO was masterful because he started out asking me very simple questions on the stage, and then we ended up discussing quite elaborate and involved business cases. Once I got comfortable with the few simple questions, I became more passionate. As the conversation went on, I had a voice. I had something to say. I experienced firsthand the power of a leader seeing potential in me and helping me rise to the occasion. I used that wonderful teaching technique over and over again with others.
WHEN I COACH CLIENTS, WE OFTEN TALK ABOUT…
One theme that comes up quite often is not thinking beyond what the current organization needs to achieve its long-term strategies. I see this narrower focus even in high-level executives, and I believe it often stems from them being insecure. It’s understandable that they want to focus more on the immediate needs and deliverables. They can get caught up in that churn of wanting those immediate wins, and so it can be hard for leaders to build their confidence beyond focusing on that current transaction or deliverable.
So we often talk about mid-term and long-term goals and whether the function they lead is equipped to deliver on those strategies and long-term goals. We also talk about self-awareness, including what the leader is good at and what is challenging for them. Identifying what you don’t know is the biggest step forward in addressing those insecurities and becoming a true leader, in my view. Are they able to hire people who are better than themselves, and then empower them and delegate so that they create valuable time to start thinking beyond the current needs of the day?
The second theme is the importance of building relationships. Leadership is very lonely, and if you don’t make those connections, it gets even lonelier and harder. If you know how to make those connections, you can bring those peers along to address complex problems together. If you create that safe environment, you can share your vision and ask for their help. Those trusted partners can become your advocates, and they can become your greatest champions and help you to really solve your problems. It’s all about communication, being very transparent, and being very concise when you reach out to others to build those trusted relationships.