Eventually in your career, someone will award you a leadership role and you’ll be expected to step up. You’ll take charge of an innovative idea, command your team on a new project, or take over a management position. Be prepared, so you’ll feel confident and capable in your new role, not simply reacting and flying by the seat of your pants.
Take a leadership personality test
Before you can grow and develop your skills, you need to know what skills you already possess and where you can grow. So pause for a few moments and think about how you naturally react in leadership situations. Do you delegate and trust others to follow through? Or do you tell each person exactly how to do their jobs? Do you ask other people for their input? Do you effectively communicate goals? Or do people have trouble understanding what they’re supposed to do. There are lots of online tests to guide you in this introspective process and help you identify which areas you need to target for improvement.
Find your passion
If you want to be engaged and effective, you have to be passionate about your work, so you can inspire those around you. Take an online passion test—they exist!—to find out what motivates and inspires you.
Be a community leader
Try becoming a board member on a local charity or non-profit that you feel strongly about. It’s a great way to enhance your skills, learn about a different perspective, and meet new people. You might get to help oversee their budget and make some important decisions—key leadership skills.
Keep a journal
Journaling is a great process for so many reasons—you can process your current state, express your joys and frustrations, and plan ahead. Plus, it’s free and easy. Try writing only about your career, focusing on instances you could have done better or could have handled differently. Keep track of your accomplishments, long-term goals, mistakes, and other skills. Be sure to credit your teammates for their efforts and achievements, too!
Learn how to develop a team
Pay attention to your co-workers’ strengths and weaknesses, learn the different personalities of your team, and take note of who might fit well into which roles. Where can you place people so that your team will function most efficiently and be most productive? Sometimes we get so used to what’s in front of them that they never take the time to step back and examine the bigger picture or the best way to achieve a goal. Which tasks, roles, and responsibilities might still need to be filled? Determine who might be best in each role and what types of positions you might need to fill from the outside.
For more interview tips on how to develop your own leadership skills, check out our website at https://www.chiefofstaffkc.com.
Blog written by Erin Greenhalgh