When we look at leaders we can often think of world leaders and change makers, they are often big ‘change the world’ stories – these are important, of course but what about the daily role we take in being a leader? What skills can we be showing every day that help our leadership shine through?
Leadership is all about taking ownership and doing your best, we are all leading our way through each day.
Everyday leadership skills:
Lead by example:
We can’t all be in charge of leading a team or project but we can lead by example, in team work situations if motivation is low, show yours, if you think that organisation is lacking show how you are keeping yourself organised. Recognising what can improve a situation is important but then showing the team the right skills is the best way to move a team forward.
Take responsibility:
Make sure that you do what you say you are going to do, or give notice when you can’t. Be accountable for your actions, sometimes things go wrong (and that’s ok) but make sure you are communicating any problems and learning from them too.
Communicate:
We often think about leaders being big talkers, taking centre stage and telling the world what they have to say. One of the communication qualities we might not see is the ability to really listen to others (find out more about active listening here). Presenting and communicating your ideas is an important part of being a leader, but taking on board other people’s thoughts and viewpoints is vital. If you can work on being able to share your ideas one on one or in large groups you will find you have a bigger influence and bring people round to your way of thinking.
Your Young Professional Challenge:
- This week we want you to watch this short TedX talk, learn more about how powerful your skills can be each day.
- Think about what you are doing daily that shows leadership and start to recognise it in other.
