When I was a reporter on a daily newspaper in South Africa in the early noughties, the managing editor called me into his office one afternoon. He had two news stories on his desk, and he had to decide on the next day’s front-page lead. He asked me which one I would choose.
One was about a cholera outbreak in a local community and the second was about a community’s protest against a planned closure of a public leisure facility. It was about six years after the country’s first democratic election, and apartheid was a recent memory. The two communities were worlds apart. The cholera outbreak was in a Black community in an informal settlement that depended on a river for water, and the protestors were from a white, relatively affluent neighbourhood.
I chose the cholera story because it was an urgent public health issue, with the potential to have a serious impact on people’s lives. The next day I was disappointed to see that the lead story was about the protest against the closure of the leisure facility. The story about the cholera outbreak ran below it.
Later that week the managing editor called me into his office again. This time to show me the readership figures for each of the stories. He told me that I had made the right call ̶ and that he had made the wrong one.
That, to me, is good leadership. It’s good communication – asking, listening, and taking accountability. It’s about being human.
Leadership is also about inclusivity. I was one of the youngest reporters in the newsroom at the time, so I was flattered that he’d asked me. I gave him my view based on my local knowledge and my instincts about what our readers cared about. I’m glad I was right. I could have been wrong, and that’s fine too. What was most important to me was that I was asked.
Equally important was that he saw me. Not everyone is assertive, or vocal, or confident. Good leaders make people feel included and visible.
Indra Nooyi, former, CEO at PepsiCo, often says: “Diversity is a numbers game, inclusion is a mindset. You can’t deal with the numbers without changing mindsets to make people feel included ̶ diverse people, women, people of colour.”
Another superpower in leadership is humility. Leaders with humility are more accountable, genuine, aware of their strengths and weaknesses, and are open to feedback and learning from others.
But let’s face facts. To be a good leader, you also need a good support structure. Increasingly, we see that successful leaders are those that have a strong team around them.
Doris Kearns Goodwin, Pulitzer Prize winning historian said: “Strong teams don’t happen by accident. When engaged in the process of team building, an effective leader knows how to set aside their ego, communicate clearly with team members, and invest in productive delegating.”
Being a leader is hard. It’s demanding. It can be relentless. So, even with the right attributes and values, how do you meet the demands of this role? By knowing your strengths and by embracing the fact that you’re not the smartest person in the room. You don’t need to be.
Connect with Ishani Bechoo on LinkedIn.
Ishani was awarded a place on The Xec. leadership scheme for UK-based Black, Asian, Mixed Race and Ethnic Minority PR and comms pros. She is being mentored by Claire Johnson-Tusińska, Global Director, Johnson & Johnson Surgery MedTech, Europe, Middle East Africa (EMEA) Region.
