There is a particular mistake, I made a lot when I started to get into leadership roles. I think that growing up process was very much like teenage, where a kid suddenly realizes that he/ she is not a kid anymore and then thinks that he is probably smarter than his parents / seniors.
He begins to disrespect them. Don’t do this as a budding leader. Don’t disrespect your seniors / leadership.
You may end up burning bridges. You may end up disappointing people a lot. (PS: I did this and I regret it).
Even if you think that you are actually smarter, find out ways of keeping your calm. Try to find out the reasons why your seniors / leaders may be doing certain things a particular way. Is there a background to what they are saying ? Why are they the specific questions they are asking ? Is there a reason why they behave certain in front of others ?
Try to understand them better. That would grow you as a leader. You may not copy them, but you would have learnt more about leadership.
Here is a related post I wrote a while back – https://pankajghanshani.com/2012/10/24/dear-over-energized-rock-star-learn-to-stay-quiet/
I screwed up (and still do sometimes) , I hope you don’t 🙂 . All the best !
How about seniors/leaders who are biased to their own perception and always put their own answer different from you because they do not want to consider you as a peer or a senior rather they want to prove that they are always right…It’s not about leadership because they influence/encourage the way you want to proceed rather than obstructing your thoughts and career path.
Hey Abhishek, I would suggest making your case in a way that they want to hear. For example, someone may not care about a culture change / process change to get more productivity , but if you show them the impact it would bring – that may get them to hear what you intend to say. But be careful about what kind of impact your leader wants to hear. Every leader has his/her own specific interests and you have to make your case based on that. Selling skills is a big part of this. Learn how to sell an idea.
Also, do all of the above in a respectful way. If they still dont listen to what you want to say and its gets bad to a situation where you stop respecting them (in your mind /heart) then consider moving to a different team / company where you can respect your seniors / leaders.