How can you advance to a senior or leadership role in training?

Marcus Buckingham offers insight here that we should lean into our strengths versus focusing on developing our weaknesses. By leaning into our strengths, we will make exponential gains and enjoy what we are doing more, which will translate to those we are training. While there are a core set of competencies all trainers need to develop, we most need training specialists who are authentic and connecting with people based on their openness and honesty.

I strongly suggest that the best way to approach this is to get some genuinely honest feedback from someone you trust. That means someone who is on your side and will be scrupulously honest with you as to what you well, what you need to improve and what may be beyond you for now.

An important aspect of a mentor/ supervisory relationship is knowing when you are being given feedback and when you are receiving criticism. This is the responsibility of the supervisor whose training must be in step with the area of expertise they supervise and offer mentoring in. In some organizations, supervision is often based on the organization’s hierarchy and not necessarily do they look to the competency and passion of that department.

In today's interconnected world, where personal and professional lives often intertwine, your personal brand becomes a powerful tool to communicate who you are, what you do, and why you do it. I've learned the significance of injecting humor into my training sessions. Even when tackling dry topics, I believe in the power of engaging storytelling. By intertwining a memorable narrative with the subject matter, I forge a deep connection between the audience and the content. There's an undeniable satisfaction that comes from witnessing a smirk or a knowing nod from the audience when they catch my clever references. It's in those moments that I know I've truly captivated their attention and made the learning experience enjoyable.

If you want to be seen as an expert within your organization, external validation of your qualifications and expertise will help. Unfortunately most of us don’t have the time or money to get a specialized MBA, but higher degree requirements are quickly being replaced by field experience. Highlight your experience with external certifications. Looking to respected brands like Coursera or industry and product specific brands like HubSpot. Speaking for a place of external expertise versus internal experience or opinion will increase your credibility and help you achieve promotions faster.

Be yourself and know your limitations. It is important that trainers should come across as ordinary people. If you try to act out a character, it could be exhausting and might come across as false. If you are yourself, people will react to you as a human being and the experience is likely to be more genuine and rewarding for everybody. Before you accept any training assignment, make sure that you are comfortable with answering the more difficult questions that can arise. If you are not - and those questions arise - your credibility will be damaged and your training session is unlikely to be a success.

Remember that managing others is an emotionally and mentally taxing role. If the only reason you want to become a leader is for the increase in job title or pay, it’s unlikely that you will be successful. Don’t seek a leadership role unless you are passionate about helping others achieve their personal best.

Volunteer as a leader in a volunteer organization. This can be a professional organization, or a charity, or even as a coach for your kid's baseball team. Volunteer leaders, to be successful, must develop interpersonal soft skills in order to teach, motivate and persuade other volunteers to act. These same soft skills will be instrumental to your leadership development in your professional life.