How To Position Yourself As A Leader In A Short Time-frame.

Some leaders are born, yes, but most are made. Making leaders out of humans is a known fact. It is probably one of the most undisputable fact of life. It happens in every age. People have been made leaders from time immemorial and it will continue till thy kingdom comes. Even God Himself makes leaders out of his creatures and records such in His holy scriptures from time to time. What message do we deduce from such divine information? That leaders are made, can always be made and that you can also make a leader out of yourself and become a Self-Made Leader.

Got that message? Now, let's proceed...

It is essential for the one who wants to become a leader to understand what he needs to do to get to his desired destination in leadership hierarchy. But first you must understand that positioning yourself as a leader will make you advance your career further as well as make your work more fruitful and meaningful. As a leader, you will gain more influence based on your title, knowledge and or skills you already possess. Hence the need for self-growth.

As you strive to become a leader, you will gradually climb the ladder up into senior management, using your personal strengths. So focusing on your personal improvement is inevitable.

Below Are The Key Strategies You Need To Employ To Position Yourself As A Better Leader:

Image Credit

1 . Deliver Superior Performance
Others simply work to meet expectations to keep their jobs and continue getting paid. You must take a different approach. How about exceeding the set expectations rather than just meeting them as the majority do? Certainly, those who go the extra miles gets noticed and they get the better recognition. Being recognized as someone who possesses high potential starts with superior performance. So always strive to exceed and excel.

According to O’Reilly who is a NextGen graduate herself, while analysing five ways to stand out and be recognized as high-potential leader, “The people selected for the program demonstrate a desire to move into top leadership roles, an interest in broadening their perspective across the business, and a strong commitment to developing themselves and others.” “But in addition to that, they usually have a strong track record of performance over several years. We choose those who demonstrate higher performance in serving clients and taking care of people.”

2 . Sign up for training.
Many a time, there comes opportunities for training and retraining in your workplace. Take advantage of the training programs your employer offers. On your own budget too, signup to learn a new language online of off. French, German, Chinese or maybe Arabic. They all are international languages of business class. Brush up on your high school Spanish or become proficient with a new software package.

3 . Take a course.
Many people get pissed off about going further in their education as soon as the complete a degree or drop out. You should think and act differently. Many adults juggle full time jobs while going back to school. You should do so too. It's just a very small inconvenience for a short period of time. And it will pay off big in the years ahead. Remember the popular maxim: No pain No gain.

Schedule an appointment with the admission office in your local university to know what you the requirements are to complete your abandoned degree or take up a new one.

4 . Read daily.
Readers, they say, are leaders. Cultivate the habit of buying then reading relevant leadership and business related books. If you are on a budget and can buy only a limited amount of books than you need to read monthly, then pick up more books about business advice or any topic that interests you from your local library.

The more you read, the more you know and the better prepared you’ll be to contribute to any discussion. You’ll sound like a leader whether you’re engaging in small talk or having an official meetup with business leaders.

5 . Cultivate a Followership.
The world is now absolutely a global village. With the proliferation of social media online nowadays, the sky is simply the begining for those who have vision and are willing to grow. Social media on blockchain is now even evolving big time. Steemit as the most outstanding example of where you can position yourself as a leader by gathering valuable followership accros the globe. If you have the ability to motivate and inspire others to collaborate on a course and take action to advance it, then you have all it takes to build a followership. Simply start out and steem it.

According to O’Reilly, "if you want to be recognized for your future leadership potential, you should be able to cultivate a followership before you get there. People will follow a talented leader,” she asserts. “They want to be inspired and motivated.” So learn what makes people tick as well as what qualities they respect (here are a few ideas) then begin to cultivate those traits.

6 . Browse for latest info during breaks.
There are some useful periods of brief intervals that you spend on hold or pausing between certain tasks or meetings. Why not put those to good use by browsing your phone and search for industry news. You’ll stand out if you’re the first one to notice a major news in the business arena like a major merger or a major lawsuit.

7 . Be Boldly Self-Aware.
Are you in tune with your workplace brand? In other words, are you aware of the unique impact you make in your office and how others perceive you? If you want a to be a leader in the future, then be concerned with how people perceive you today.

Emerging leaders must possess strong self-awareness. “Understand your strengths and where you can make an impact,” says O’Reilly. “And then, be brave enough to make that impact.”

8 . Consult an expert.
Consultation may be expensive atimes, yet it is what makes the difference most of the times. Hence, be sincere with yourself and don't deceive yourself. Contact others in your current field or network who would be willing to share their wisdom even if for a fee. Interview a colleague who has published a new book and promote his/her work on your personal blog. You’ll both benefit from increased information and publicity. And in the end you'll become better at what you do or know.

9 . Think Strategically.
Stratetic thinking is key in this new fast-paced digital age. Changes happen very fast so you need to be strategic and not just approach issues with carefree attitude. "To thrive in an accelerated leadership program like NextGen," says O’Reilly, "you must strive to think broadly and more strategically". “Question how things could be done better and how to add value to the organization, no matter what role you are in,” she recommends.

For example, let’s say you notice a number of customers with similar complaints about your team’s product. Instead of reacting to each problem as it arises, try to determine the root cause or look for ways that your team might be better able to anticipate customers’ needs.

10 . Attract Mentors.
The difference between the one mentored by an experienced mentor and the one who just swims in self-constrained trial and error approach is huge. One valuable element of a high-potential program is the opportunity to learn and network with others in your cohort. You’ll develop an amazing network of impressive peers who will one day become your network of powerful business leaders. Some of such are your would-be mentors. Just look carefully.

As soon as you can, start establishing relationships with the leaders you identified, who can mentor and guide you now. This is simple to achieve. When you meet a person you admire, ask if he or she would be open to having a 20-minute informational meeting with you to answer some career-related questions. If the response is in affirmative, good. Next, observe the pool of experience with which you've been tutored in that meeting and how valuable the knowledge shared has been then afterwards, ask if he or she would be willing to meet with you on a regular basis. If you get a yes—you’ve just got a new mentor. Hold on carefully onto him and value him/her.

So there you have them, ten (10) outstanding skills you can start to implement to position yourself as a leader. Now over to you. Go ahead and evolve.

If you found this writeup helpful to you in some way, kindly upvote and comment to encourage others. Also, kindly resteem to benefit others.

THANKS, STAY BLESSED ALL DAY LONG.

I am and I remain @TOPCOACH

Please Let Me Know Your View On This In Comment Section. Thanks