Are you Ready? 3 Questions for Emerging Leaders

Many professionals long to climb the corporate ladder; if you’re taking time to read this, you probably do too. So, let me ask you a big question: Are you ready to Lead?

While Leadership Theory research attempts to answer what leaders look like, Leadership Emergence research attempts to find where they come from, and under what conditions individual come into leadership roles.

I recently finished a course focused on Leadership Emergence, as part of my Doctoral Program. Based on what I’ve learned, I want to share three questions to answer if you’re thinking of taking the next step in your leadership journey.

Why do you want to lead?

Good leaders have a reason to lead, and though that reason is personal there’s always a why that powers their what. So, what’s your why for leadership? To find the best answer, I recommend outlining your life story by organizing significant events and experiences.

Start with your foundational years and organize your recollections and accomplishments; when doing so, pay close attention to fulfilling or satisfying experiences, where you were also successful. This exercise will help you uncover potential areas of personal giftedness, which every single person has.

This can be a difficult process, but my experience doing this myself was that the deeper I went into detail the better insights I could glean from the process. Ultimately, you get out of this exercise what you're able to put into it, and Emerging Leaders can truly benefit from what this exercise uncovers.

The next step in your journey should take you towards greater professional satisfaction. If you don’t understand what drives you, you might wind up climbing the wrong ladder. Strong leaders lead where they’re passionate; before emerging as a leader in your field, consider why leading is important to start with.

Do you want to drive bigger change? Do you truly enjoy responsibility and just want more? Are you passionate about growing others, and eager for opportunities?

How you answer these kinds of questions is fundamental for identifying what your next step in Leadership Emergence might look like: so, answer yourself honestly!

Is your life is taking you somewhere you want to go?

After reflecting on your life, and finding patterns in what you love doing, look towards the future. Is the place your career is taking you somewhere you really want to be?

Advancing in leadership deepens your commitment to your field, so if you’re doing work that doesn’t excite you, your effort might be better spent finding roles aligned to your gifts and passions. Even if this feels like a step back, or a lateral move, it can be a strategic decision to get you into a field that takes full advantage of what you bring to the table.

As you think of your current or possibly future field, remember that leadership is about the responsibility that one person has to many, not the other way around. Before anyone seeks leadership, they should ensure they have counted the cost of leading. You want to be at your best as a leader, for the benefit of yourself and those who will count on you, so making sure you are prepared, and the role suits you, are key for success.

Life is most certainly non-linear, and the path to leadership isn’t a straight line. There is no shame in pivoting industries, roles, or any other aspect of the career you're building. You will most certainly encounter challenges along the way, and how you respond to them will impact your character as a leader. This kind of leadership character is the sum of how we view our work, what is important, and what professionalism looks like in our industries; every leader should be conscious of what their leadership encourages or discourages in others.

For me, I know that at the end of my professional life I want to look back and be proud of the work I have done, not just what the work I have done has brought to me personally; I have to believe there are many other passionate leaders who feel the same way and would agree that where you ply your trade is as important as the trade itself.

What does your ideal leadership role look like?

When thinking of the world’s best leader: what do you imagine? Or perhaps: who do you imagine?

The way someone leads is not one-size fits all, in the sense of what is personally satisfying to the individual and what makes sense in different organizational cultures. I strongly recommend intentionality in the way you think about your leadership; find clarity in yourself on how you want to show up, what types of characteristics you want to be prominent when leading others, and even the level at which you want to lead. This kind of intentionality is how we can all own our Leadership Character.

Remember too that leaders exist at every level of every organization, both formally and informally. It’s important to understand what an ideal leadership role looks like for you from the perspective of the influence you want your leadership to have. Folks who have had a transformational leader in their life can attest to the impact that individual had on them, and that person is not always a direct supervisor; it's important for those who have been blessed to have such a leader, to become that person for another.

For that reason, leaders looking at their next steps should not just consider how they lead as individuals, but in what contexts they are most fulfilled by leading in.

Do you want to have hundreds of people looking to you for guidance, and build bigger, and bigger, operations? Do you want a small, intimate team, where you can focus on building relationships, or maybe driving strategic initiatives?

There isn't a right answer for everyone, there's just the right answer for every individual. You owe it to yourself to know yours!

Seriously consider what your vision is for the leader you want to be. And as you do so, make sure it's what you want, not what you think the right answer is.

Parting Encouragement

As someone who just answered these questions, I found myself encouraged and challenged as I put my answers together. I will be honest that these are all questions I am actively working on getting my best answers for, but the process is one that is illuminating.

Despite not having a complete, perfect answer, reframing my view of leadership and becoming more intentional on how I want to lead is already a major benefit.

So don’t be discouraged if there isn’t an immediate answer to the questions asked here, because a good answer takes time, and your future is worth the wait!