STEER Leadership Model (Photo Credit: Dallas Innovates)
On September 14-15, 2025, I participated in a 2-day-long workshop titled “bKash Leadership Excellence Program: S.T.E.E.R. to the Future” with Quazi M. Ahmed, organized by b-academy, and the learning partner was Quazi Consultants. I would love to share my learning and takeaways from this workshop.
Please note: not all the following things were discussed in the workshop as it was presented. I am trying to present based on my own learnings and understanding. So let’s start…
About b-academy:
b-academy is a program run by the HR department of bKash Ltd. for its full-time employees only. It offers several technical, non-technical, hard skill, and soft skill learning workshops for bKash employees.
About Instructor:
Quazi M. Ahmed is a highly experienced and internationally recognized professional in the field of leadership development, coaching, and training. His diverse educational and training background, spanning the United States, Japan, Norway, and Bangladesh, reflects a global perspective in his approach to leadership and organizational development.
Leadership
Leadership is the ability to influence, motivate, and enable others to contribute toward success and sustain results. Effective leaders set direction, foster a positive culture, and build trust, combining strategic thinking with empathy to guide teams.
Core Components of Leadership
- Vision and Strategy: Defining a clear, inspiring direction for the future and communicating it to the team.
- Integrity and Ethics: Acting with honesty, authenticity, transparancy, and high moral standards to build trust.
- Communication Skills: Clearly conveying ideas, listening effectively, and fostering open dialogue.
- Emotional Intelligence (EQ): Possessing self-awareness to manage one’s own emotions and empathy to understand others'.
- Influence and Motivation: Persuading and inspiring team members to take action and achieve goals.
- Decisiveness and Courage: Making difficult decisions and acting with conviction, even under pressure.
- Team Building and Empowerment: Fostering collaboration, nurturing a supportive culture, and empowering others.
- Learning Agility and Resilience: Adapting to change, learning from mistakes, and persisting through challenges.
Essential Leadership Qualities
- Self-Awareness: Understanding personal strengths and weaknesses.
- Passion and Grit: Displaying enthusiasm and perseverance (sometimes called “grit”) in achieving goals.
- Respect and Compassion: Valuing team members and acting with empathy.
- Adaptability: Adjusting leadership styles to fit different situations (e.g., democratic vs. situational).
- Trust Worthy and Honesty: Showing honesty every time. Earns respect and trust of others.
The S.T.E.E.R. Leadership Code
S.T.E.E.R. is the DNA of leadership at bKash.
- Strategist
- Talent Developer
- Enabler
- Executor
- Resilient
These are the five dimensions of bKash leadership.
Strategist
Definition: Sets direction and makes future-oriented decisions (with actions).
Goal: Shape the future.
What it means:
- Setting long-term vision and direction
- Aligning team goals with business objectives
- Making smart trade-offs (speed vs quality, cost vs reliability)
The Six Behaviors of a Strategist:
- Craft & communicate vision - paint a clear future picture
- Translate vision into action - break strategy into achievable steps
- Inspire ownership - motivate the team to take responsibility
- Listen for diverse perspectives - gather and value different viewpoints
- Align team with strategy - connect daily work to organizations mission
- Challenge the status quo - ask, “how can we do better?”
Key mindset:
“Am I solving the right problem, not just solving it right?”
Talent Developer
Definition: Nurtures and empowers team members.
Goal: Build talents or leader for the future.
What it means:
- Mentoring and coaching team members
- Identifying strengths and improving weaknesses
- Creating future leaders
The Six Behaviors of a Talent Developer:
- Build bench/pipeline strong - prepare successors for key roles
- Align growth with needs - connect personal aspirations to organizational priorities
- Foster continuous learning - encourage ongoing skill-building and curiosity
- Develop strategic & collaborative skills - equip team members for higher-level impact
- Broaden capability via challenges - stretch people with meaningful new responsibilities
- Improve with feedback - coach consistently for growth and performance
Key mindset:
“If my team grows, everything else grows.”
Enabler
Definition: Removes barriers, provides resources, and supports collaboration.
Goal: Engage for impact.
What it means:
- Providing tools, processes, and clarity
- Eliminating blockers (technical, organizational, communication)
- Creating a safe and productive environment
The Six Behaviors of a Enabler Leader:
- Engage & energize people - motivate with enthusiasm and purpose
- Foster transparency & inclusivity - build trust through open communication
- Enable peak performance - provide tools, resources, and clarity for success
- Remove roadblocks - anticipate and eliminate obstacles
- Encourage innovation & adaptability - create space for new ideas
- Build authentic relationships - show care, consistency, and integrity
Key mindset:
“How can I make it easier for my team to succeed?”
Executor
Definition: Delivers on promises with discipline and speed.
Goal: Ensure results.
What it means:
- Driving delivery and accountability
- Prioritizing effectively
- Ensuring consistent progress
The Six Behaviors of a Executor Leader:
- Plan & manage work effectively - set clear goals, timelines, and priorities
- Ensure accountability - track commitments and follow through
- Execute with speed - deliver results without compromising quality
- Leverage team strengths - use diverse skills for stronger outcomes
- Make smart trade-offs - balance risk, cost, and speed to optimize outcomes
- Deliver results consistently - build trust by achieving what was promised
Key mindset:
“Execution beats intention.”
Resilient
Definition: Stays strong in adversity, adapts quickly.
Goal: Conquer challenges.
What it means:
- Staying calm during crises
- Adapting to change quickly
- Learning from failures instead of blaming
The Six Behaviors of a Resilient Leader:
- Navigate change & uncertainty - stay steady and guide others through transitions
- Bounce back from setbacks - learn and recover quickly from difficulties
- Demonstrate learning agility - adapt, experiment, and grow from experiences
- Manage emotions - stay composed, model calm, and support others’ emotions
- Maintain positivity - encourage optimism and focus on solutions
- Stay aligned with values - keep decisions grounded in organization’s mission and principles
Key mindset:
“Setbacks are part of the process—not the end of it.”
Key Aspects of Steering Leadership:
- Balancing Authority & Inspiration: Effective leaders blend the structural force of authority (control) with leadership (vision and inspiration) to avoid losing direction or engagement.
- Adaptability: Steering leadership requires adapting to high-pressure situations by taking control when necessary.
- Mentorship: It focuses on growing people through active coaching and continuous development.
- Values-Driven: It emphasizes understanding personal and organizational values to maintain the right course.
Conclusion:
Successful leaders need to follow all of these 5 dimensions. Without any one of these can fall behind. Because all five dimensions are interdependent:
- Strategy aligns with talent
- Enabling empowers execution
- Resilience sustains all others
S.T.E.E.R. is not about being perfect in all five areas — it’s about balancing them consciously.