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Becoming a successful leader at work can be challenging. You want to be the one your team looks to for guidance and support, but you may not be in a leadership role yet. So, can you establish yourself as a leader at work, and display the characteristics of a good leader daily?
There are many ways, but listed below are some things to start doing today. By doing these things, you can position yourself as a leader at work without being too obvious about your ambitions.
If you want to become a leader at work and develop your leadership skills, incorporate these actions into your daily routine:
1. Take On More Responsibility At Work
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To become a leader at work, learn to take responsibility for anything that you're interested in, and own it. That also means that as long as you participate in that project, you influence whether it fails or succeeds.
Learn to take responsibility for not just the good things, but also the bad things. Take ownership of your mistakes, and know it's okay to be wrong. You cannot learn if you haven't made any mistakes.
2. Believe In Win-Win In The Workplace
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A rising tide lifts all boats—always think win-win.
It exists. Just because some may believe the business world is nasty, and that you need to be manipulative and maneuvering to win, you need not participate in it. In fact, make it your priority to not to be a negative and manipulative leader.
If you want to be a leader at work, believe in your positive leadership abilities. The positive influence you have on the people around you and the ability to inspire your team is right in front of you.
3. Strive To Push The Envelope
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Try new things. Take some risks. Make yourself uncomfortable. Do the things that may make you look foolish. Seriously, what do you have to lose?
Leaders take risks. They are not afraid of doing what they believe is right. What are you willing to take a risk for? To be a leader at work, you need to take small risks, like taking on a project no one wants.
4. If You Have An Idea, Write It Down
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I often say this world is full of people who talk too much and don't do enough.
If you want to be a leader at work, act on something. Work on a plan. If you have ideas simmering in your mind, write them down.
It doesn't matter if your idea doesn't have a plan yet—just write it down. If you don't write it down, there is no record of the idea, and you won't have anything tangible to present. How can it count? If you want to be a leader at work, you have to practice writing down everything.
5. See Opportunities Everywhere
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There is no need to create leadership opportunities at work. The opportunities to lead are everywhere already.
You need to be mindful of these opportunities. An example of an opportunity you can capitalize on is taking on a project no one wants. If you don't see opportunities like this everywhere, you are missing the point.
6. Be Open To Receiving Feedback
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Be open to criticism. Otherwise, you are just living off your own opinions and ideas.
What does being open to criticism mean? When you are open to feedback, you are getting ideas and suggestions from others that are free. Oftentimes, these ideas come from people smarter than you. They will give you tips on how to improve and how to be better.
That's what a leader needs—constant feedback. You need feedback to be a leader at work, otherwise you are "feed-own" (I just created that word to mean feeding yourself) and you will go hungry soon. With no new ideas, a leader dries up.
7. Give Your Work Everything You've Got
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Giving is how you open up at work. Pour out all you got. Express your ideas, thoughts, and plans. Feel the vulnerability and learn to like it.
When you pour all your ideas out, you will need new ones. Where do new ideas come from? They come from critics, from well-meaning supporters, and from the people you least expect. At the end of the day, more comes back to you. You have more to input. It enriches you, and that's how you become a leader at work.
These are the seven actions you can do starting today to position yourself as a leader at work.
Remember, if you want to be an influential leader, do not be afraid of taking risks. You have more to gain than lose when you open up.
Need more help with your career?
Become a member to learn how to UNLEASH your true potential to get what you want from work!
This article was originally published at an earlier date.
Is your job search turning into a grind with no end in sight? It may be time to take a step back and reevaluate your entire approach.
In cold weather climates, the beginning of spring is a time to clean the house and get organized—a practice known as spring cleaning. Through the years, spring cleaning has taken on a larger meaning with people using the time to organize and declutter things in their lives.
For professionals on the job hunt, a little spring cleaning (metaphorically speaking) could be a great way to reinvigorate your job search. Here are a few strategies your job search spring cleaning should include.
Reevaluate Your Job Search Approach
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Make a list of the last handful of jobs you applied for and see if you can identify any positive or negative trends. Consider things like:
How did I learn about this job?
How did I apply for the job?
Did I earn an interview?
What was the ultimate result?
A lot can be learned about your job search approach just by answering these questions and identifying patterns. For example:
Negative Trends
You discovered five jobs through job boards, applied to all of them via the job boards, and never heard back from any of them.
The common pattern here is applying through job boards. This isn't to say that job boards don't serve a purpose in the job search process, but they have their limitations, and you can't run your job search entirely off of them. When you apply through a job board, there's a good chance that your materials will never get past the applicant tracking system (ATS) and never be seen by an actual person.
One simple fix is to research who the hiring manager or recruiter is that posted the position and email your materials to them directly.
The more efficient fix would be to take a proactive approach by putting together a bucket list of companies that you want to work for and start making connections on LinkedIn with people who work at those companies. You may already know some people who work there or have connections that can refer you to some individuals.
This is a great way to network your way onto a company's radar.
Positive Trends
You applied to three jobs via referral, were invited to two job interviews, and made it through multiple rounds of interviews for one of the jobs before being passed over for someone with a little more experience.
The pattern here is that getting referred to a job by a professional acquaintance is a great way to land a job interview. This indicates that you're leveraging your network well and you should continue to focus on your networking efforts.
The next step is to review the interview process and determine what went well and what needs to be improved. Sometimes the interviewer will provide feedback, and that feedback can be valuable. However, not everyone is comfortable with giving feedback.
Chances are you probably have a good idea about areas of improvement and the skills you need to gain. Put together a plan for addressing those shortfalls.
The good news in making it deep into any interview process is that it indicates that the company likes you as a potential employee (even if the timing just wasn't right) and the experience could be a roadmap to a job with that company at a later date, or another similar opportunity elsewhere.
Give Your Resume & Cover Letter Some Much-Needed Attention
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Are you continuously sending similar resumes and cover letters to each job opening with only minor adjustments? If so, your strategy needs some serious spring cleaning.
The reason why it's so important to tailor your resume is that throughout your career, you acquire numerous skills, but the job you're applying for may only be focusing on 6-8 of those skills. In that case, those skills must rise to the top of the resume with quantifiable examples of how you successfully used those skills at previous jobs.
Remember, recruiters go through hundreds of resumes. They need to be able to tell from a quick glance whether or not you're a potential candidate for the position.
While updating your resume, you could also spruce up your LinkedIn profile by highlighting the skill sets that you want to be noticed for by recruiters.
As for writing a good cover letter, the key to success is writing a disruptive cover letter. When you write a disruptive cover letter, you're basically telling a story. The story should focus on how you connect with the particular company and job position. The story could also focus on your personal journey, and how you got to where you currently are in your career.
If your resumes and cover letters aren't unique, now is the time to clean things up and get on track.
Build Your Personal Brand
Just because you're looking for work doesn't mean that you don't have anything to offer. Use previous career experiences and passions to build your personal brand.
Ask yourself, "How do I want other professionals to view me?"
Pick an area of expertise and start sharing your knowledge and experience with your professional network by pushing out content on your LinkedIn and social media accounts. Good content can include blogs, social media posts, and videos.
By sharing content about your experiences and passions, you slowly build your personal brand, and others will start to notice. The content could lead to good discussions with others in your network. It could also lead to reconnecting with connections that you haven't spoken to in years, or making new connections.
You never know when one of these connections could turn into a job lead or referral. The trick is to get on people's radars. So, when you're cleaning up your job search, be sure to build a plan for personal branding.
Maintain Healthy Habits During Your Job Search
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Your job search is important, but it's even more important to know when to pull back and focus on personal health and spending time with family and friends.
There are actually things that you can do for your own enjoyment that could help your job search in the long run, such as:
Grab coffee with a friend - It's good to engage in light conversation with friends during challenging times. And if your job search does come up, remember that most people have been through it themselves and you never know when a friend may provide you with a good idea or lead on a job.
Volunteer - Volunteering is a great way to get involved in the community and help others. In addition, if you develop a little bit of a career gap while looking for a job, you can always talk about how you filled that time volunteering, if you're asked about it during a job interview.
Continue to focus on other passions - Are you a fitness nut? Blogger? Crafter? Continue to do the things that bring you happiness. And if you're in a position to profit from your passion through a freelance job or side hustle, even better!
Spring is the perfect time to clean up and improve your job search so you can land the job you want. If you're struggling to find a job, follow the tips above to reinvigorate your job search—and watch your career blossom!
Need more help with your job search?
Become a member to learn how to land a job and UNLEASH your true potential to get what you want from work!
This article was originally published at an earlier date.