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Suzan Bond is a former COO of Travis CI, leadership consultant and executive coach. Her specialty is leaders at scaling startups. She's spent more than 15 years in technology. Her education background includes psychology, organization development, leadership and community organizing. Suzan facilitates workshops and is host of LeadDev's Bookmarked series. She's spoken at numerous events, is a contributor to Fast Company's Work Life section and writes the Suzan's Fieldnotes newsletter.
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In her keynote titled 'Lost in the Wilderness' at RubyConf 2022, Suzan Bond, a leadership consultant and former COO of Travis CI, explores the complexities of leadership through the analogy of being lost in a wilderness. She emphasizes that many leaders feel overwhelmed, lost, and unsupported in their roles due to conflating management with leadership and facing complex, unforeseen challenges. The keynote outlines several key points: - **Leadership vs. Management**: Bond clarifies that leadership and management are distinct roles. Leaders focus on influencing and guiding teams across organizational lines, whereas management is often about overseeing day-to-day operations. - **Navigating Complexity**: Leadership is characterized as complex rather than complicated, meaning it involves navigating unknowns and interdependencies rather than simply following established processes. - **Transitioning to Leadership**: Stepping into leadership roles necessitates a shift from managing tasks to focusing on team dynamics. Leaders often feel disoriented in this new terrain, facing heightened scrutiny. - **Common Misconceptions**: Many aspiring leaders underestimate the challenges of leadership until they experience it firsthand, realizing it is significantly more complex than perceived. - **Support Mechanisms**: Bond advocates for better support structures for leaders, including clear expectations, appropriate onboarding, and ongoing professional development. - **Developing Skills**: She introduces a model of seven competencies needed for effective leadership: - Influence - Organizational Awareness - Systems Thinking - Fostering a Culture of Belonging - Adaptability and Growth - Responsiveness to Feedback - Conflict Resolution Through personal anecdotes—such as her father's struggles in a traditional corporate environment and her own experiences with leadership burnout—Bond illustrates the importance of understanding the nuanced challenges that leaders face. The talk concludes with a call for organizations to invest in their leaders by providing the necessary resources, support, and a culture that allows them to thrive. The ultimate takeaway emphasizes kindness and support in leadership development, aiming to create healthier work environments for everyone involved.
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