If you’re in a junior position with aspirations for the top, then beginning to act, think and communicate like a leader now, will put you in good stead for the route up the ladder of success.
There are several ways to carve out your niche as a leader, whether in your business, career or personal life. Plan ahead for your development, spot opportunities, take positives from the knockbacks and have a leader’s presence and persistence: you’ll increase your chances of people recognizing you as a leader.
No matter how big your ambitions don’t let them distract you from excelling in your role. Focus on the present, deliver today’s business now, meet the deadlines and get ahead.
When your boss delegates jobs, take up the challenge and never shy away from taking difficult tasks. Get into how your boss thinks, and when you are on their wavelength, put forward solutions that can help efficiency and results. Your boss will turn to you for more advice.
Never overreach and expose yourself to potential fails. A can-do attitude to new initiatives will have bosses gravitating to you as a solution-fixer, particularly if a job exposes your success outside the unit. From volunteering on events, facilitating a meeting or resolving conflict. All signals show you aspire to leadership potential, while still being ‘one of the workers.’
Taking a unique or unusual look at solutions, tackling jobs others don’t want, and essentially thinking outside the box, will make you stand out from the crowd.
There’s a fine line between ambition and acting big. Show humility in leadership positions, modesty and self-assurance, never boast or be over-confident. All are perfectly acceptable weapons of persuasion: your colleagues will want you on their side and your boss on theirs. All demonstrate a quiet, but determined backbone to keep rising to the top.
Being modest about your ambitions to others, particularly your manager, is advisable. You can still lay out your accomplishments and question where they see you in the future? Rather than it being about you engage in conversation with your superior. But if you have one that feels threatened by your aspirations, stay quiet and demonstrate potential.
Look for role models, people you aspire to. Study what they do, their success, how they act, communicate, and dress. Find ways of working with them and identify skills you can emulate.
Build bridges and networks to future success. When your boss evaluates you, they’ll probably look to others to assess your ability. Diversify across the organization and get exposure to the right people: treat every situation as an opportunity to demonstrate your va
