In your own words, how do you define leadership?
In your own words, how do you define leadership? Please provide a specific example, professional or personal, of a time when you embodies the characteristics of a leader. Be sure to highlight the challenges you faced and the results you achieved. What areas do you wish to develop in order to become a more effective leader?
Leadership is the embodiment of a set of characteristics that inspire people to follow. A leader acts morally and respects both supervisors and subordinates alike. He or she is adept at identifying opportunities and is willing to take on challenges no matter what obstacles underlie them. Very soon after stepping into my junior equity trading position at Beck, Mack & Oliver, I was presented with an opportunity to emerge as a leader who embodied the above characteristics.
On my two month anniversary with the firm, Zac (one of the partners) called Alex (my senior trader and immediate supervisor) and me into his office. Just prior to my arrival at the firm, the bond trader who had managed the fixed income portion of the firm’s assets had retired. The partners and their clients were in clear need of a replacement, and as we discussed the various alternatives, Alex raised the possibility of handing the responsibility off to me. While he initially seemed skeptical, Zac ended the meeting by asking me to consider the new role.
The following Monday I was told that I would be given a small bit of responsibility for the trading and management of our bond holdings, but that I would be supervised very closely. Compounding the pressure that I felt after this introduction was a challenging first day. The pace of my interactions was fast, the client calls were numerous, and I lacked any real experience on which to draw. I vividly remember a conversation with Alex after the market closed that day, during which I told him that there was no way I was going to be able to handle my new responsibility. He responded by saying that he admired my willingness to take this on and was confident that with perseverance, I would acquire and gain a command of the skills I needed to be successful.
That conversation and the question of, “What does it say about my potential or value to this firm if I’m not willing to help in any way possible?” continued to run through my mind as the week progressed. I was given almost no guidance, but as things became more familiar, my comfort level increased. I honed the process of respectfully relaying complicated data to less informed portfolio managers and clients and became quite proud of my ability to do so. Senior members of the firm began asking for my analysis more frequently, they listened carefully when I presented a relevant piece of research, and I knew that I was bringing value to the firm.
What I took to be the most noticeable show of confidence came in a request made by Zac. He asked that I analyze the money market holdings of his clients to see if there was any opportunity to increase returns. Through a careful analysis, we were able to increase his clients’ returns by nearly 100 basis points–and the other portfolio managers noticed these dramatic results immediately. Only a few days after I had finished Zac’s evaluation, three of the other five managers asked that I run similar exercises for their accounts. This simple request brought with it a great sense of pride. I was being addressed not only as a peer, but as a principal in a very important capacity of the firm’s money management responsibilities. Ultimately, I was able to increase the returns on $60 million of invested assets by a full percentage point. The creation of that $600K in profits brought with it a sense of accomplishment in both the praise I received and through the realization that I had emerged as a true leader within the firm.
While this emergence among my peers at Beck, Mack & Oliver demonstrates how I eagerly stepped into an unfamiliar role and became valuable to the firm in my bond trading capacity, I believe that there is room for me to grow in working with larger groups of people, communicating goals, and delegating responsibilities when appropriate. The display of leadership as a competent bond trader is an example of how I embodied the characteristics of a leader on an individual level. At the same time, I see potential within myself to grow as a leader in a group capacity and I am excited to develop this facet of my skill set at McDonough.