Unleash Your Potential: The Courage to Lead and Succeed

Dear Aspiring Leaders,

Have you ever been close to a big chance to do something great but then started to feel really nervous? You're not alone. But I've discovered something important: being brave doesn't mean you're not scared. It means you go for it even when you are scared. In leadership, it's this kind of bravery that can help you stand out and move up.

Let's talk about the role of courage in leadership development and how it can be a catalyst for achieving the results you desire and, ultimately, that long sought after promotion.

Courage to Speak Up

Leadership requires a voice. Your ideas, insights, and feedback are invaluable. Practice speaking up in meetings by preparing points you want to address beforehand. Start with smaller, less intimidating sessions before taking the floor in larger groups. In the beginning you can just ask questions about the topic. Show that you are intellectually curious and want to learn more. Affraid to unmute and speak up? Use the chat to begin with. Remember, every great leader once had a first meeting where they found the courage to contribute.

Courage to Take Initiative

Promotion often favors the proactive. Identify a project or area within your organization that could benefit from improvement and propose a solution. Take the lead on this initiative. It could be as simple as streamlining a process or as complex as spearheading a new product idea. This shows foresight, responsibility, and the willingness to go beyond your job description. Do not wait for someone to give you a project to work on. Identify opportunities, size them, quantify the measures of success and suggest it, with you as the lead.

Courage to Challenge the Status Quo

Innovation is born from the courage to challenge existing paradigms. When you question processes and propose better alternatives, you demonstrate critical thinking and leadership potential. Start small by questioning everyday inefficiencies and suggesting improvements. Your courage to challenge the norm will not go unnoticed. Remember, that suggestions are different from critizising. Always know that someone built a process before you critisize it, so be respectful and focus on how it can improve the overall organizational performance by changing it. Maybe time just passed and the current process is no longer valid.

Courage to Ask for Feedback

It takes courage to seek out and genuinely listen to feedback. Reach out to peers, subordinates, and superiors after completing a project or presentation and ask for their honest opinions. Use this feedback to refine your approach, improve your skills, and show that you are committed to continuous self-improvement. Yes, I know this one can seem scary, but if you genuinely want to become better, feedback is a valuable way of knowing what works and what does not and you can start to take action on improving yourself.

Courage to Fail and Learn

Every leader has faced failure, but not all have the courage to embrace it as a learning opportunity. When you take on new challenges, you risk failure, but you also open the door to growth and learning. Share your failures and lessons learned with your team. This transparency fosters trust and shows that you value growth over the illusion of perfection. Admitting that you make mistakes and that you are willing to share them with others as learning opportunities, shows that you learn faster and you encourage your teams to learn from failiure as well. Failure is only failure, if you do not learn anything from it.

Courage to Lead by Example

Finally, embody the change you wish to see. If you advocate for punctuality, be the first to arrive. If you value thoroughness, ensure your work is impeccable. If you encourage open communication, be brave enough to communicate openly with others. Leading by example is a powerful way to demonstrate your leadership philosophy in action. Show others how to do it, before you expect others to follow in your footsteps.

In conclusion, courage is the bedrock upon which leadership skills are honed and results are achieved. It's the secret ingredient that can set you apart in a sea of potential candidates for promotion. So, I challenge you to choose one act of courage to undertake this week. Share your experiences with me, and let's grow together in our leadership journey.

By the way, I made an entire video on how to get promoted and you can find the link in my profile. It is free to watch and it is made for you!

To courage, growth, and your next promotion,

Glenn Birkelev Senior Leader and Leadership Coach