On leadership

Recently, I have been listening to a podcast about military strategy and tactics of Mongols during the Genghis Khan’s campaigns. It is interesting that the Mongols valued leadership abilities of their commanders very highly. For example, there is a quote sometimes attributed to Genghis Khan (although it is more likely a variation of a quote of Alexander the Great or the Socrates) that “an army of donkeys led by a lion is better an army of lions led by a donkey.”

The basic principles of leadership certainly transcend military applications and apply to many aspects of life. After all, most of what we do day-to-day is communicate with other people. There is a vast amount of literature written about it, perhaps, Sun Tzu’s “The Art Of War” being the best known example of military strategy guidelines becoming a famous reference for business people.

For me personally, working with a research group of colleagues and graduate students, teaching a course or taking photos of people – all these activities involve leading or directing others. There are many details of leadership that are specific to a particular activity, but some key aspects are common. Here they are, taking a typical portrait photo shoot as an example:

• Planning. This is foundation of a successful project. I need to have a clear idea of what I want to accomplish, what gear I would need, how much time the shoot would take, etc. However, there is a point of diminishing returns in planing, so at some point, it is important to just start doing things.
• Flexibility. It is likely that things would not go exactly according to the plan. When that happens, I try to trust my experience and intuition and not over-think the choice of lens or camera settings, for example.
• Confidence. I believe that planning and experience are the foundation of confidence, and flexibility is the result of it. Perhaps, it depends on the type of personality, but I think confidence should come naturally, not as a result of artificial effort. After all, it is really impossible to convincingly fake it, and also, there is a fine line between confidence and arrogance.
• Communication. It is a two-way process, and when I am in a leading role, I control how the communication occurs. As a photographer, I need be aware of how the photo shoot as it progresses and make sure that everyone knows the general plan, but has sufficient autonomy to make adjustments without waiting for specific directions. This usually happens naturally with models, assistants  and other photographers, as we establish a relaxed, fun atmosphere. Also, as I wrote earlier, asking others for feedback during the shoot is a great way of establishing a connection and avoiding mistakes.