On this episode of the Inspiring Great Leaders Podcast, Craig Johns speaks with Anita Madan about how leaders cannot know everything, and allowing and creating space within organisations for innovation and creativity.

We also dive deeper into identifying if an individual contributor is suited for management, gender diversity in leadership, and recognising the importance of human touchpoints.

Anita Madan – Leaders Cannot Know Everything

Anita Madan serves as the Global Head of IT Strategy and is a distinguished TEDx Speaker. She is the Chief Operating Officer at Dream Big Australia and passionately mentors STEM students through IMINS.

With a solid educational background, Anita holds a Bachelor of Commerce degree and has pursued studies at the prestigious Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. Throughout her career, Anita has made significant contributions to various multinational corporations, including global Security Tech company GnD, American Express, Agilent Technologies, and Trident Group.

Anita Madan talks about:

• Growing up in India in a traditional modern family shaped her way of thinking
  
• Dreaming of becoming a lecturer and somebody who does a lot of research
  
• Leaders Cannot Know Everything
  
• Leaders need to create space for their teams to think differently and innovatively
  
• Finding what expertise each team member has and harnessing it
  
• Giving your best at work instead of trying to prove yourself as the best
  
• Leveraging the power of your teams, finding solutions, and using organisational goals as a North Star
  
• Leaders need to provide direction by asking good questions
  
• Find the right balance between utilizing data and technology while also ensuring they do not threaten humans at work
  
• Making progress towards gender diversity in leadership 
  
• We need more female role models to inspire the next generation
  
• Leaders need to manage their energy well and utilise the expertise of those around them rather than trying to do everything themselves
  
• Being curious and asking the right questions can spark innovation within teams instead of telling people what to do
  
• Identifying if an individual contributor is suited for management
  
• Providing training and simulations before placing people in a leadership role
  
• Maintaining curiosity, stepping outside comfort zones, and avoiding making quick judgments to grow and adapt to change
  
• Remuneration should be based on the value individuals bring, whether as individual contributors or leaders
  

Tweets

“The modern leader is not someone who knows everything, but is the one who knows how to navigate through the unknown.” Anita Madan talks about the modern leader on the Inspiring Great Leaders Podcast.

“If you’re engaging your team to do things like 9 to 5 all the time, they do not have the space to think anything different. They are just following the routines. So create that space even for yourself. When you are working on something more creative, more innovative, very different, if you are not creating that space for yourself and your team, you’re really lacking on the best talent.” Creating allowing space for creativity with Anita Madan on the Inspiring Great Leaders Podcast.

“Don’t ask the fish to climb the tree. Do not ask the bird to swim. It’s like that. So you should know who is the fish and who is the bird. Once you realize that, then talk to that person. I always do that with my team. I tell them, this is my observation. I think you will grow better in this part.” Anita Madan talks about knowing your people well to help them grow on the Inspiring Great Leaders Podcast.

Resources Mentioned in this show:

Anita Madan Linkedin
Craig Johns www.craigjohns.com.au
Craig Johns craig@nrg2perform.com
Craig Johns LinkedIn
Craig Johns Facebook
Inspiring Great Leaders Podcast
NRG2Perform www.nrg2perform.com