“The best leader is the one who has sense enough to pick good men to do what he wants done, and the self-restraint to keep from meddling with them while they do it.” – Theodore Roosevelt
I played on a tennis team when I was in my 20’s. It was a loosely organized group of women who played at the public tennis courts. We were part of a league that created matches with other teams, some of whom were the “fancy” ones who belonged to a club with a pro.
But my team had a secret weapon: our coach, Evan. A quiet-spoken man who seemed to take everything in. He’d meet with us at practice and not only run drills to improve our skills but also strategically position who should play singles versus doubles, and forehand versus backhand.
I don’t remember our records of wins and losses so it probably wasn’t that great. But I know we got better as a team and also as individuals. It was largely because of Evan. He could see our strengths and vulnerabilities and help us position them to the best advantage.
I was reminded of Coach Evan when I recently talked with John Hernandez, the Director of IT at Leisure Care on the How to Share podcast. John has an incredibly collaborative leadership style and knows how to balance giving people on his team leadership, agency, and backup when needed.
In short, he’s a very good coach for a strong team.
John told me how he landed on this leadership style and how it’s worked as his team and responsibilities have grown. We talked about how people in technology can sometimes be protective of their knowledge and not want to share. And we discussed how AI changes the game for so many people in technology and how to wrangle it as an asset, not a competitor.
I asked John about how he adapts his message for people who are less technical. He brought it back to the power of telling a story and finding key beats, regardless of the topic.
This is a great episode about how leadership, openness, curiosity translates to infectious passion for sharing – and for team building. I know you’ll love it!
Takeaways
- John emphasizes the importance of sharing knowledge to build effective teams.
- A collaborative leadership style fosters a culture of openness and mentorship.
- Technology professionals often hoard knowledge due to fear of job security.
- AI is changing the landscape of IT, enabling more collaboration.
- Storytelling can help convey complex technical concepts.
- Creating a supportive environment encourages team members to grow.
- Passion for technology can be infectious and motivate others.
- Adapting messages for different audiences is crucial in IT.
- Building a knowledge-sharing culture can lead to better team dynamics.
Here’s a clip of John describing how he landed on his leadership style:
Here are some ways you can listen and watch this infectiously energizing episode:
- The podcast player embedded below
- Click this link to watch in a browser: Secrets of Collaborative Leadership with John Hernandez
- Subscribe to How To Share on Spotify, Amazon Music, or Apple Podcasts
- Subscribing to the YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@howtosharepodcast
Please listen, watch, provide feedback and subscribe.
Secrets of Collaborative Leadership transcript
How to Share Our Luck with Gil Gillenwater – How To Share
Links for this episode:
John Hernandez on LinkedIn
Surprised By Joy 