Becoming a great leader doesn’t happen overnight or the second you get promoted into your management level position. Leading well requires a considerable amount of effort adapting to the constant changes in business.
If you want to grow your leadership power, here are tools you can add to your belt in order to do just that.
SEEK LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT There’s a saying that goes “You’re the average of the five people you spend the most time with,” a quote attributed most often to motivational speaker Jim Rohn. Whether it’s true or not, what is true is the fact that iron sharpens iron.In the business world, it matters who you connect your wagon to when you’re looking to grow. Leadership consultants or coaches are a great point of contact for leaders seeking to improve their individual effectiveness and drive business growth. With leadership development, you can work with a mentor or trainer one on one or in a group setting to see improvements in your power to lead both in and out of the office.
BUILD YOUR PROFESSIONAL BRAND A major part of one’s capacity to lead is attributed to their “brand”. A professional brand is in essence the “mark” you have around your name or your career. In other words, it’s the summation of the lasting impression you leave with people. Think – your energy, attire, communication style, and expertise. If you want to grow your leadership power, a tool you can take advantage of is your professional brand. Leverage your professional brand to change the way you show up for yourself, your team, and the company. Find ways to be united with your team so you can earn more of their respect. Having a well-established professional brand can help build your credibility and reputation as an authority in your industry.
GROW YOUR EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE Great leaders need to maintain a certain level of emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence is one’s ability to perceive, understand, manage, and handle the emotions of self and others. People with high emotional intelligence are able to lead with logic and adjust their emotions to adapt to different environments. In other words, they have strong social skills and know how to read the room. If you want to grow your leadership power, grow your emotional intelligence and use it as a tool to learn how to sense what others are thinking and feeling and inspire people to trust you enough to follow your lead.
DEMONSTRATE COURAGE AND VULNERABILITY Rising up the ranks of leadership requires courage and vulnerability. The more you manage, the more responsibility and risk you tend to take on. Leaders have a lot of weight on their shoulders being responsible for the success of their team and the company. If you want to grow your leadership power and reap the rewards, you have to step out of your comfort zone. Use courage as a tool when you need to put yourself out there and take on more risks.
WORK SMARTER, NOT HARDER Leading a team oftentimes requires you to adopt new ways of thinking and working. The same hard work that landed you your managing role won’t be the same hard work that’s required to succeed in that role. In order to be recognized as a strong leader, you’ll need to start working smarter, not harder. One way this can be done is by better understanding how your company works, how it generates profits, and how the systems that are in place work and why. Developing this level of awareness can help you as you make business decisions because you can do so knowing the implications of your decisions as it relates to your responsibilities as a leader.
“Before you are a leader, success is all about growing yourself. When you become a leader, success is all about growing others.” -Jack Welch
x Jasmine Ball is a wife, mom, award-winning journalist, and founder of BTM Writing Services. Throughout her career, she’s been helping companies all over the world get confidence over their content and grow their businesses. With God at the center, Jasmine’s life mission is to use her gift to connect people to resources that will help them live more informed, inspired, and overall better lives.