Life & Career Experience that Translates to Leadership Potential
Many people are looking for leadership jobs, but they don’t think they have the right experience and skills to apply for leadership or management positions.
Often, though, these same people already have the skills they need. They just don’t realize it.
In this article, we look at career and life experience that translates to leadership potential.
Job seekers can really harness these skills and highlight them on their resume. Conversely, businesses looking for employees with leadership skills can often read between the lines on resumes to find just the right management-type skills they’re looking for.
Volunteer Leadership
One of the best ways people develop leadership skills is through their time working in a volunteer position.
This doesn’t even have to be the volunteer in charge. This could be a person who leads a volunteer committee, plans an event, or guides changes.
Working in leadership roles in a volunteer organization translates to leadership potential because people are learning how to lead and collaborate in a very natural manner.
What’s more, when people take on a leadership role in a volunteer organization it signals that they are willing and able to lead. It also shows that people have the ability to collaborate with and manage different personalities and agendas.
Sports Leadership
For many, participating on a sports team translates to leadership potential, especially if they took that type of role on the team.
In addition, people who play sports are generally competitive, and this is another skill that translates into leadership potential.
Coachable people are also often adept at coaching. They learned how to be coached, so they can translate this into a leadership role.
Athletes are often goal-based and can translate their goal-setting skills into leadership positions.
In addition, athletes on sports teams know how to work as a team and inspire their teammates, again translating into leadership.
Social Leadership
Many job seekers and potential candidates participate in social groups such as lunch/dinner groups, book clubs, theater groups, and other extracurricular activities.
People who participate in social activities are often driven to experience more and grow. They are often well-rounded, confident people who know what they want and how to get it.
These skills translate into leadership potential and show you they want to continue to learn and experience things from other people. This willingness to grow can help them be better long-term leaders.
Soft Leadership Skills
There are many soft skills that translate into leadership potential.
One of the most important soft skills is empathy. This means a person can understand and share (empathize) with the feelings of another.
Great leaders are empathetic and strive to understand and empathize with their staff.
Empathetic people are better able to manage relationships and the conflict that naturally ensues.
Candidates and job seekers who highlight and can demonstrate ways they showed empathy show a great potential for leadership.
Soft Discernment Skills
Another life experience that defines leaders is the skill of discernment.
What is discernment? It’s the ability to judge situations well. It’s the ability to judge relationships and make great business decisions.
A person with discernment is willing to take the time necessary to understand a problem and then find the right solutions.
People who are discerning don’t jump headfirst into decisions. They are critical thinkers who make good leadership decisions.
Final Thoughts
There is much in the way of life and career experience that candidates can translate into leadership potential.
This doesn’t mean making yourself into something that you aren’t. It means harnessing and leveraging those leadership skills you gained from everyday living and experience.
Potential candidates can translate different personality qualities and personal experiences ranging into leadership skills that help build and grow businesses.