Client Question: “I want to grow as a leader, but I am not sure where to start?”
How do you define this for yourself? What does it look like when you reach it? Is it a certain level that you want to reach or to be perceived in a certain way? Defining this for yourself is the key to determining what actions you want to take to reach that outcome. In general, growing as a leader takes time and multiple types of experiences to make it happen. Here are a few ideas that may help you think about what you could do:
- Managing different teams – each team has his own set of personalities, dynamics and challenges. There will be lessons learned from each situation. As you learn more and trust yourself, you will be more confident in how you lead each new group.
- Training – there are some basics that you will get from training, but these are most likely foundational things. They will only have a limited timeframe to teach you and give you the basics. Learn what you can from them and take those perspectives, tools and ideas with you to your role. You have to apply them as soon as possible, so you don’t lose what you learned.
- Other forms of learning – there are so many resources now that there can no longer be an excuse anymore. Podcasts, books, webinars, conferences, other experienced resources, online or in person classes, etc. are all things that you can leverage for learning and developing yourself.
- Coaching/Mentoring – identify a coach or mentor who can help you move forward more quickly. Leveraging these resources will help you to accelerate your growth, move forward when you are stuck and give you new perspective.
- On the Job – being a part of different projects or experiences will help you grow a lot as well. Look for opportunities to take the initiative to get involved in a new project, program or start your own. Do something that hasn’t been done before, lead a team through massive transformation or travel to other countries to align on a common vision. These are just a few examples that will push you out of your comfort zone and help you grow as a leader.
- Be open to feedback – if people are willing to give you feedback and share ideas with you, then you need to thank them. Listen to what they have shared and try not to be defensive. It may be challenging depending on what they say to you, but simply reply with a thank you. Think about what they said to see if it could be true. Remember perception is reality, so it is important to decide what actions you would want to take to address it. This is where having strong self-awareness is so important.
Take a look at these suggestions and see if any of them resonate with you as actions that will help you reach your definition of a growth leader. If not, then create your own list to start working on. Experiences and time are two of the biggest factors that really help you to grow the most. There are no shortcuts. Put the work in to reflect on what you are learning each day or each week. Are you doing the right things to help you be seen differently? If you want to be seen as a leader who is growing, then you need to start working on actions that will change your behaviors to help you get there today.