Leadership
Traits of Leadership
We have seen that by setting the right context our employees can understand our mission and vision and create a great product.
The leadership styles in the company support this. Regardless of your role, to ensure effective people management and growth, we strive to shift away from “controlling activities” towards a synergistic relationship between team member.
What makes a good leader is a concept that can vary per team, organization and people’s personal opinion. At Secure Group we recognize that and that’s why we decided to define what makes a good leader in our company considering our specific reality and unique teams.
In a “Context, not Control” environment, you still need people to coach and provide directions, but this is not the traditional role of a leader. That’s why we are looking for the ones that can embrace the core principle of caring for others and giving up control rather than seeking control.
In Secure Group everyone is treated equally. Employees gain a chance to learn, and to set and accomplish goals with the support of their leader.
The leadership traits and roles
We currently have four leadership roles with different expected traits but similar objectives: lending support to addressing the needs and wants of the people and the organization. This is our priority. This contrasts with the leader-first perspective, where a person aims to gain control quickly, often driven by material gain or influence but it’s our way to ensure autonomy, accountability, innovation and high-performance.
Coordinators – Our pace setters
The core duty of a coordinator is to get the work done through process management. They are in contact with customers, suppliers and employees of all levels, therefore they need to navigate frequently between difference audiences to set-up the right context.
Our Coordinators are required to deliver fast results. These leaders are primarily focused on performance. They often set high standards and hold their colleagues accountable for hitting the department’s goals.
The fast-paced work environment fostered by the coordinators can also create miscommunications so to ensure effectiveness they have to be able to provide clear instructions and have an outstanding ability to manage adversities, chaos and change.
Managers – Our coaches
The managers are responsible for the performance of their teams. They are involved in strategic decisions and are required to anticipate technical issues and complex and ambiguous problems or opportunities that are often systemic with no readily understood answers. They are responsible for identifying these situations in their teams, requiring a change of mindset or attitude, and providing the right corporate context.
They are quickly to recognize their team members’ strengths, weaknesses, and motivations to help each individual improve. They assist team members in setting smart goals, ensure quality and efficiency through processes management and provide regular feedback with challenging initiatives to promote growth. They’re skilled in setting clear expectations and creating a positive, motivating environment.
Managers promote the development of new skills, innovation, free-thinking and empowerment while building high-performing teams.
Sr. Managers – Our visionaries and servant leaders
The core duties of our Sr. Managers are strategic and high-level. They are responsible for providing direction for different teams and at the same time ensure there are no knowledge gaps in them. They are constantly monitoring the market and Secure Group strategy to ensure our competitive advantage. They have a powerful ability to drive progress and usher in periods of change by inspiring employees and earning trust for new ideas. They are also advisors in establishing a strong organizational culture by fostering confidence among direct reports and colleagues alike.
Sr. Managers live by a people-first mindset and believe that when team members feel personally and professionally fulfilled, they’re more effective and more likely to produce great collaborative work regularly. These leaders are exceptionally skilled in building employee morale and helping people re-engage with their work.
Focused on the big picture, they have capacity to boost employee productivity, improve employee development and decision-making, cultivate trust, and create future leaders. Sr. Managers help the company to grow, unite teams and improve outdated technologies or practices.
Head of – Our transformational leaders
Our Heads of Departments are responsible for setting strategic direction, developing context, and fostering our corporate culture on an organizational level. They focus on clear communication, goal-setting, and the company’s productivity.
Instead of placing the majority of the energy into each employee’s individual aspects, they are driven by a commitment to organizational objectives. However, they are also committed to developing the next generation of Secure Group leaders and build a strong relationship with our shareholders. The "Heads of" also value the company's ethics and teams while focusing on high-performance in the long-term.
Qualities of our Leaders
Even though each role has specific leadership traits that are expected according to their core duties, there are some qualities you can find in each one of all our leaders:
- Values diverse opinions
Values everyone’s contributions and regularly seeks out opinions.
- Cultivates a culture of trust
People are comfortable to go about their activities in an environment of mutual trust and support. There is no back-stabbing and sharing is encouraged.
- Develops other leaders
Our leaders provide opportunities for learning and growth, demonstrating by example and teaching others to lead. They give up power and have deputies lead, replicating this mindset through the organization.
- Encourages
The hallmark of our leaders is encouragement. The true leader says, “Let’s go do it,” not, “You go do it.”.
- Sells instead of tells
An effective leader, for us, is the opposite of a dictator. The aim is to persuade rather than command.
- Thinks you, not me
There’s a selfless quality about what we expect from our leaders. Those who only think, “How does this benefit me?” are disqualified.
- Thinks long-term
Our leaders are constantly thinking about the next generation, the next leader, the next opportunity. They make continual tradeoffs between what’s important for today versus what needs to be done for the future.
- Acts with humility
Secure Group leaders are not concerned with job titles. A title is not a way to show he/she is in charge or “better than everyone else”. Instead, they act in a caring way towards others. Nothing is beneath them and they may be seen picking up trash or cleaning a table. They set an example of service. For us, it is not about the leader, it is about others.
Leaders in Conclusion
- Leaders support others to serve the needs of the organization.
- They do not seek prestige, status, material gain or control.
- They offer coaching and opportunities for growth, providing a demonstrable example of expected behaviors.