How can you develop your leadership and management skills over time?

We often hear, "you can be a leader at any level," but let's be honest, most aim for leadership for career advancement. To develop leadership skills, nurture bravery by stepping beyond your comfort zone in life. From improv classes to new experiences, each builds the courage needed to seize opportunities at work. Learning from mistakes is vital. While communication skills help, hands-on experience is irreplaceable. Mistakes, though uncomfortable, fuel growth. In essence, you can be a leader at any level, but don't shy away from seeking career growth. The key: cultivate bravery and embrace your errors. Become the leader you aspire to be with courage and resilience.

You don’t have to be in a leadership or management position to be a leader. You can lead at any level, but to be a leader, you need to set an example to others, learn from mistakes and be accountable for them, reflect on the good and the bad taking feedback on board, and most importantly to me support others where you can do. Leadership for me is about bringing others on the journey, not just expecting people to come with you.

It is fascinating to take a formal self-assessment and compare to what you already think you know about your strengths and weaknesses. I've found that they generally align for myself, and then sometimes highlight something more specific or new that differs from my perspective. These are invitations to dig deeper and can be quite revealing. Self-reflection and recording successes and challenges can feel awkward at first but they are valuable. These are standing questions on my monthly 1-to-1s with my staff. Sometimes I need to probe a bit and ask questions to help them find answers, but the experience itself is part of development. Find a trusted partner, mentor, or coach to help you start this and then determine next steps.

I couldn't agree more! The more you know about yourself the easier it is to adjust your leadership style based on the situation. A 360 assessment is also very helpful. Make sure to have both colleagues and friends assess you. Are your friends or family seeing a different you than your colleagues?

You can also enhance your leadership skills by reading books and enrolling in online courses. I've discovered that books authored by prominent leaders in different fields assist me in refining my leadership abilities. These books provide valuable insights derived from their wisdom, experiences, and even their mistakes. One exceptional author in the realm of leadership is John C. Maxwell; his books consistently offer a wealth of knowledge.

Most larger companies have mentoring programs these days. You must express interest in becoming a mentee. Don't rely on others to pave your future for you. You need to be proactive. Get information on your company's mentoring program and don't shy away to request a new mentor if your assigned mentor is not a good fit for you. You get a much better experience if you click with your mentor.

Homer, the Ancient Greek legendary author of two epic poems Iliad and Odyssey tells a story of War of Troy. When Odysseus, one of the Greek kings, set sails for Troy he wanted to ensure his young son Telemachus gets a solid education and his palace is in a good hands. He asked a friend, whose name was Mentor, to get his son education necessary for a long successful life. Thus the first mentorship took place. It was based on sympathetic relationship between two people of different levels of experience without any formal relationship or family and organizational structure. If you want to accelerate your growth as a manager and a leader then get a strong mentor and set up a sort of master and apprentice relationship.

I agree totally. When you want to develop your skills, learning from others plays a huge part in your growth. I've found there are many styles, perspectives and methods out there so researching those can be beneficial in honing your skills in a way that's aligned with your goals and personality. For example a nurturing style of leadership is popular.

An easy way to learn from others during the course of one's work day is to approach every meeting, conversation, communication, presentation as an example to learn from. You may be a participant or a bystander. Reflect on your experience by asking yourself: 1) What have I observed that is worth replicating? 2) What have I observed that should not be done? Follow up each of these by answering 'why?' (that's where the gold is) Finally, remember you are unique. Consider how you would adapt what you observe from others to fit with your personality, style, and situations.

You don't need to be in a leadership position to be a leader. You can be a leader even in an entry-level position. Think of construction safety for example. This is a field where even an entry level project engineer or even an intern can be a leader and point out and correct safety hazards.

Start small. Find an area that needs some improvement, create a plan, and then see if you can recruit one or two people to help.

Getting involved in your company's Employee Resource Groups (ERGs), participating in DEI initiatives, social responsibility efforts, etc., provides opportunities to grow leadership skills and demonstrate them across the company. This is a great way to increase your social capital and visibility as a leader. If your company doesn't currently have these types of opportunities, taking the initiative to start them is a great way to brand yourself as a leader.

Start where you are, with what you have. It may be one small step, but give it all you have, evaluate, tweak, and take another step. Recognize that growth is not perfectly linear. Expect mistakes along the way. EVERYONE takes what appear to be backward steps but they are simply steps to help you get a better footing.

Seek feedback from those you can truly trust, who want to see and help you succeed, and who will take the time to provide thoughtful guidance.

Being able to clearly define your personal brand is so important. After you have gathered your feedback, taken assessments, or whatever methods of input and insight you've chosen, plug the keywords into a word cloud. It's a great visual to help you see areas where you are strong, and also recognize things that may be important to you that aren't coming across as strongly as you would like. You can even use it as a tool as you work with a mentor or have 1:1s to receive feedback. I even use mine as the cover for my LinkedIn profile to showcase my strengths and remind me of areas I want to continue to elevate how I come across.

While a good manager/leader should also be a great support and coach, they don't always know how or have time. Don't let that deter you. You are responsible for your own growth. Invest in yourself, your future, and in the lives of those you do or will one day lead, by enlisting formal help from a mentor, coach, or both (they have similar but still different roles). They can provide unbiased, tailor-made insights and guidance, craft a development plan, work with you to identify priorities, strategize effective ways to achieve key goals and milestones, and provide accountability along the way. They can also help you adapt your generic learnings for yourself & your situation. It's never too late to start this journey.