“Leaders don’t create followers. They create more leaders.”
—Tom Peters, Business Author, and Speaker
What is the job of a leader?
To manage? Dictate terms to employees? Look for fixes for raging fires?
Too many people believe that these are the qualities and responsibilities of a leader. In a sense, while these will “drive” performance and enable discipline and conformity, they are likely to fall short when you want to nurture a winning culture that lasts.
Leaders, in essence, motivate people to reach their goals. They think about the future and adopt a growth mindset to prepare the organization for future challenges and opportunities. These people often have a collaborative mindset, encourage self-accountability, and empower people to find their own solutions. They set a positive example for others, are generous with praise, and are not afraid to take the blame.
Bosses, on the other hand, are “know-it-all,” simply telling employees what to do based on their own authority, position, and rank. They worry more about managing people instead of motivating them. Further, they are not driven by passion, purpose, or a future-focused legacy mindset. Rather, they reactively focus on the right here, right now, with fear and competition as their driving forces.
At Groupsoft, we don’t believe in bosses. We believe in leaders with the ability to organically spread the power of effective leadership, and that’s how we produce extraordinary results that endure over time.
Creating a Strong Leadership Culture at Groupsoft
Bosses have followers who require explicit directions and instructions. Self-learning and experimentation are not a part of the boss culture, so if the boss is not around, the work suffers – and so does the organization.
They hustle through their roles, their behaviors, and their people. Fear is rampant. There’s an element of paranoia, too. Sometimes employees feel that they don’t have a choice, especially right after performance assessment day. It’s like they’re trying to draw water with a bamboo basket — precisely why Groupsoft’s corporate culture doesn’t ideate a boss mentality.
Our culture is more aligned with the idea of leaders creating more leaders. Here’s how that works:
- Each employee is empowered to make decisions and operate confidently. Empowerment means that everyone has a voice in what kind of company they want Groupsoft to be.
- Each team looks for its own solutions, even if those answers and solutions lead to mistakes. Everyone works hand-in-hand to learn from these mistakes and accelerate the organization’s pursuit of success.
- Decision-making happens collectively, and execution is inclusive. This allows everyone to take ownership in the process and inspires them to carry out their responsibilities with much more enthusiasm than when they’re just following someone else’s orders.
Our approach puts empathy at the forefront, thus, paving the way for heightened innovation, better engagement, more inclusivity, balanced work-life, and increased retention.
“Leaders don’t have to be experts in mental health in order to demonstrate they care and are paying attention. It’s enough to check-in, ask questions and take cues from the employee about how much they want to share.”
—Tracy Brower, Forbes
Why a Strong Leadership Culture Matters to Us
At Groupsoft, we believe that strong, charismatic, and competent leaders can motivate and inspire people to become the most effective versions of themselves and give their best effort every single day. A leader who can provide both advice and encouragement is highly sought-after in our company, as is a leader who is always open to new ideas, modern methods, and different perspectives.
Such people help us engender a creative, collaborative and positive work environment that makes people feel appreciated and valued and generates better results for people and the organization alike.
Besides, we actively look for people at every level who display an attitude of self-management and self-accountability and have a high emotional quotient to resolve conflict and solve problems.
Such people also show a deep hunger for continuous learning that helps them achieve great things. More importantly, they help others achieve great things, leading to successful outcomes for the company.
Fortifying Our Leadership Culture with a Strong Hiring and Training Philosophy
Some people believe that true leaders are born that way — with natural charisma and the innate ability to influence, motivate and inspire. While that may be true, we believe that it is also possible to cultivate or make leaders, even if they were not born as such. Our hiring, talent engagement, and learning and development programs are geared towards this philosophy and the idea of “leaders creating leaders.”
As such, our recruitment process focuses on hiring people who:
- Display strong leadership qualities
- Are emotionally mature displaying personal integrity
- Possess the ability to influence rather than coerce.
Only people who take accountability for their own actions and decisions and focus on what’s right rather than on what’s expedient are Groupsoft material because these qualities can guide the company towards a bright future.
We also have a robust training and development ecosystem where equal emphasis is given to on-the-job training and leadership development. Our in–house and external trainers work closely with the C-Suite and other senior leaders to develop training programs where learners can develop and nurture their leadership abilities.
Our flat organizational structure and open communication channels encourage transparency throughout the enterprise. As a result, every employee is free to approach a senior for guidance, support, and advice on how to be a better leader and mentor.
Succession Planning and KRAs for Strong, Ongoing Leadership
Strong succession planning is also a critical part of our leadership-oriented culture. While a good leader is indispensable in our organization, we believe that it’s also vital to keep developing such leaders in order to strengthen our capabilities, maintain a strong competitive posture, and create a highly engaged, motivated, and productive workforce.
Further, every employee at every level is encouraged to draft their own Key Result Areas (KRAs). This further strengthens the sense of self-responsibility, self-accountability, and self-management that we aim to create throughout the organization.
Too Many Leaders? No Such Thing!
At Groupsoft, there’s no such thing as “too many leaders.” Every leader and manager is encouraged to create even more leaders who can guide us into many tomorrows.
Moreover, we discourage the use of titles within the org. These titles are only for the outside world, while internally, we prepare every employee to step up and take on new initiatives like a true leader.
Our goal is to skyrocket the company to success, and for this, we need people who think and behave like leaders and promote a strong leadership culture throughout the enterprise. If it sounds like we are echoing your thoughts, we do want to hear from you. Head over to our Open Positions section to see if there’s a role that suits your interest.