What You Need to Do to Be Seen as a Leader

Do you want to be a leader with managerial responsibilities? Then, instead of passively waiting, you can show that you are prepared to lead. By employing these five skills, you, too, can be considered a leader.

1. Collaborate with your colleagues

Independent contributors may believe they only work on tasks assigned to them. This gives the impression that you are a self-sufficient worker who is uninterested in teamwork or devoted to leading others.

Each collaboration demonstrated to others how you contributed to the organisation's success. Offer your strengths, skills, and expertise to work on projects with others.

This collaboration is not limited to one of your team members. You can collaborate with other departments as well as your leadership team. The partnership will get everyone in the organisation talking about how you added value, which will set you apart from your competitors.

Collaboration is essential for all managers. You have the potential to scale your cooperation by demonstrating it to your team.

2. Accept new roles strategically

Even if it is tempting, do not jump at every new opportunity that comes your way. The most crucial factor is how this position will strategically impact your career goals. 

Let's say you accepted new job offers during your career. Some say that taking these jobs in a short time is excessive and gives the impression that you are job hopping. However, as long as you accept each new role for a specific reason and ensure it is well-planned and methodical, you have nothing to be afraid of. 

Before you open the door to an opportunity, consider the offer and its impact on your career trajectory.

3. Volunteer for projects

Volunteering is not always easy for people, especially if it involves doing something for which they lack the necessary knowledge, expertise, or skills.

Everyone has a boss or manager, and their relationship with them will differ. However, there will always be a project or task that your boss dreads working on. That is precisely the task you should volunteer to complete for your boss.

You will not only learn, improve, or practise a skill when you volunteer; you will also demonstrate initiative to your direct supervisor and make them happy with your deliverable.

You will be in a position to grow along with the influence you had on the business, thanks to your established credibility to take on new projects. When you volunteer, you demonstrate to your boss and senior management that you are willing to go above and beyond. This puts you on the radar for opportunities for advancement with managerial responsibilities. Your initiative will undoubtedly be rewarded.

4. Be a lifelong learner

How did this become one of the most in-demand skills? Practitioners are learners. They are the ones who iterate a process until it is fully optimised, which means that they become better and stronger human capital assets to the organisation as they learn.

Continuous learning demonstrates to leaders that you are adaptable and flexible in an ever-changing work environment. Continuous learners were essential in 2020 and will remain so in 2021. In addition, the pandemic completely altered the working environment, necessitating the acquisition of new skills and upskilling.

As a lifelong learner, you distinguish yourself from your peers by establishing yourself as a subject matter expert within the organisation. You will be able to appeal to management once you have established yourself as a subject matter expert.

After all, a manager must be a lifelong learner to support a diverse team with varying communication and work styles.