Lead Yourself to Lead Others — Change, Conflict, Delegation, Collaboration

Start here New boss. New teammates. New city. New software. At work, something is always changing. Can you lead others through change if you can’t handle it yourself?

This page covers lessons 6 to 9 of “Lead yourself to lead others”.

Change is now constant and uncertain — the pandemic showed this.

From the slide:

• Expect change — it is constant, unavoidable, and happens everywhere: personal, professional, organisational, global.
• Monitor change and prepare for it.
• Adapt to change quickly.
• Embrace the change and the experience — learn the lessons and insights.

Other lessons help here: a growth mindset, emotional resilience and taking care of yourself.

Lecture example — Prof. Kartic’s changes

1. Student → corporate job: from working alone to working in teams with different people, habits and likes.
2. In the company: every customer is different; teammates, bosses and even the company head keep changing (sometimes through mergers).
3. Corporate → entrepreneur: a bigger change. No brand, no HR, no finance team, no ready customers. You are the brand. You must keep networking and adapting fast.

Change is painful, but if you reflect and learn from it, it becomes joyful.

Lt Col Jayakumar: Change is the essence of life — in your body, your thoughts, your environment, education and experience.

In one line: Expect change, prepare for it, adapt quickly, and learn from it. Exam words: embrace change, expect, monitor, adapt, lessons and insights.

This lesson is about conflict within yourself, and how resolving it helps you lead others.

What causes conflict inside us?

• conflict of values
• conflict of expectations
• conflict of perceptions and perspectives
• conflict between your inner voice of wisdom and your inner chatter (the critical noise in your head)

These clutter the mind, drain energy, and make problems look bigger than they are.

From the slide — how to manage it:

• Be clear on your core, non-negotiable values. Learn to say NO. Respect others’ values.
• Understand your expectations of yourself. Drop unrealistic ones, or ones not aligned with your values and goals. With others, turn expectations into clear agreements.
• Reframe your lens — clear it of preconceived notions and cognitive bias. Be open to diversity. Listen to others.
• Process your inner self-talk and inner critic.
• Become your own inner coach. Remove everything not aligned with your values and goals. Use words of power.

Why it helps you lead: Resolving inner conflict creates space inside you. Then you:

• are more self-aware, present and empathetic;
• listen actively and make the other person feel valued and respected;
• share leadership and ownership of solving the conflict;
• get to the root of the problem through healthy dialogue.

This builds psychological safety — a safe, non-judgmental space at work. Then there is harmony, trust and reliability. It also helps you delegate and collaborate.

In one line: Clear the conflict in your own mind first; then you can listen and help others resolve theirs. Exam words: inner conflict, values, expectations, perceptions, inner chatter, inner coach, reframe your lens, psychological safety.

Delegating means giving work to others and empowering them to do it. New managers find this hard — they think, “It’s faster if I do it myself.”

From the slide:

• Pick team players not only for expertise and credentials — also someone who is a team player and can lead themselves.
• Mutual trust, respect, reliability and commitment are key.
• Align the person’s vision, core values and goals with the team and organisation.
• Clearly define roles and responsibilities.
• Empower the person and put them in control.
• Ensure psychological safety.

Trust, reliability and commitment must go both ways.

Everyday example You lead a college fest team. Instead of doing posters, sponsors and stage yourself, you give posters to the best designer, sponsors to the best talker, and stage to the most organised person — with clear deadlines. Then you trust them and check in, not take over.

In one line: Choose the right person, make roles clear, trust them and put them in control. Exam words: delegate, empower, team player, mutual trust, roles and responsibilities, psychological safety.

Today there is so much specialisation that leaders must collaborate across teams, partners, clients and service providers in many places.

From the slide:

• Be open, transparent, honest, non-judgmental.
• Empower individuals to share and exchange ideas.
• Give equal opportunity and access to resources to all.
• Let different (divergent) thinking and skills come out before converging on a decision.
• Listen. Understand. Act.
• Use collaborative tools and set up smooth processes.

Also needed: empathy, listening, open communication, shared vision, shared goals, shared leadership, and psychological safety.

Lecture example — Sundar Pichai, Google CEO Known for collaborative leadership. He listens quietly to everyone before sharing his own view. He gives every member an equal chance to share ideas. Then he converges on an idea that works for everyone.

In one line: Listen to everyone, give equal chances, then bring ideas together. Exam words: collaborative leader, transparent, equal opportunity, divergent thinking, converge, listen–understand–act, shared vision.