Create a Leading Role in 6 Steps
In the modern business world, there are two different kinds of leaders: the ones who lead through an appointed title and the ones who lead through curated respect and ability. No matter your rank, you can CREATE a leading role for yourself in any situation by using these tools.
- Confidence
Appear confident. Even if you have to fake it until you make it, people look up to someone who is confident in who they are as a person and an employee. Remember that body language and tone influence others’ perceptions of you more than your actual words; hold your head high, make eye contact, and speak with purpose.
- Respect
Always show respect to others, no matter your rank or position. What goes around comes around, and those around you will also grow to respect you by following your lead. Having the earned respect of your colleagues is essential in becoming an effective leader.
- Experience
The more time and experience you have in a certain job or field, the better you’ll know its quirks, tricks, and demands. Experience will make you a natural leader, someone your peers will look up to and seek advice from.
- Accessibility
Experience must be paired with accessibility in order for you to become a leader in the eyes of your peers. Without an open and welcoming nature, your expertise solely benefits you, and can even make you seem more closed off and unreachable. By being fully involved and integrated in the professional community around you, you become an important resource.
- Teaching
The next step is having the skill to help others when they need it. If you are able to teach those around you a new skill through guidance and demonstration, you’ll quickly become a mentor to others in the office, giving you the ability to lead with credibility.
- Expressing your passion
Finally, show you love what you do. Even with a lot of experience, accessibility, and an ability to teach others, if you express no enthusiasm for your tasks and shared goals, your ability to lead can only go so far. Excitement is infectious; get those around you excited by demonstrating your own passion for a project, and you’ll have a team full of committed, motivated people following your lead.
