The First Step to Becoming a Leader: Believing You Can Be One
Michigan Ross School of Business Executive Education
Written by Professor Julia Lee Cunningham , Associate Professor of Management and Organizations
In our modern yet ever-changing working world, leadership has evolved into something that organizations and employers actively look for across all levels of the working hierarchy. Although leadership can be found within many different people and places, regardless of designated positions or organizational roles, most individuals don't truly start out believing that they are leaders. Often, what predicts one's leadership behavior is leader identity: whether or not one sees themselves as a leader.
The leader identity concept is particularly critical in consideration of the rising number of organizations that stray from organizing employees under conventional workplace hierarchies. Encouraging employees across all levels to envision themselves as leaders and embrace leadership opportunities is becoming increasingly valuable to many organizations, even those operating under traditional principles.
For more leadership content, join Professor Cunningham and other faculty experts for The Positive Leader: Deep Change and Organizational Transformation program from Michigan Ross. Learn more about the program and upcoming availability here .