It’s Actually Simpler Than You Think

I meet a lot of leaders in my line of work (leadership training lol). And many of them either had no plans to become a leader – it just kind of took them unawares.

OR, they had a plan – it IS what they wanted. But when the opportunity came their way they were unprepared.

One lady I was speaking to a couple of weeks ago said that they chance had come up at work to go for a management position but she was ‘erm’ing and ‘err’ing about whether to go for it. When I asked why, her reply came as no surprise and is something I hear a lot.

“Well, Julie, I don’t think I am ready. I mean I have never had any leadership training!”

She is not alone. Many people think they need this mysterious and all encompassing magical ‘leadership training’ BEFORE they can be a leader. What they don’t realise is, in most cases, they already ARE a leader.

You see – everyone is a leader to some degree. At the very least you are the leader of your own life. If you are a sibling – you may well be a leader to your younger siblings. If you are a Mum or Dad – then you are a leader in your home. You might have been a Guide leader, A Brown Owl, or whatever the equivalent is in any extra curriculum activity.

You might have been choir leader or football captain.

In an informal way at work, you are probably already leading people before you become a leader. I mean, there has to be a reason you get picked for the next job.

If your bosses see that you are naturally someone that others turn to, that they aspire to be, that motivates your colleagues – then you are already a leader.

It really is very simple. You just need to think about 3 things.

Firstly – THINK about your impact. What impact do you have on your own morale and on other people around you. If the impact is positive – great – you are already doing the right things. If others are not responding well then you need to….

Change your BEhaviour. You just need to be conscious of what behaviour is working and what is not working in your results. And once you have changed your behaviour then you can (and everybody else can also) ….

DO different things.

You see, you don’t need to go on a course, to operate the THINK, BE, DO style of leadership. I believe everyone has a natural leader inside them.

Of course there are some techniques and strategies that can help make you even more effective, but just using some self-assessment and awareness is a great start.

If you’d like a conversation about how I can support you in your leadership journey – message me and I will get straight back to you.