Natural born leader. This is a phrase that has been used many times although it is not true. Leadership is a skill that is learned. When you see a leader in business, they worked hard to make it happen. Being a business owner, you spend what seems like a lifetime focusing on your company and striving to make it the best that it can be. When you see a leader in the community, many hours were spent working with others and developing the skills that people now see as “natural”.
Becoming a leader takes an investment. It is an investment in yourself and an investment for your future. Think of it as a 401k plan for your abilities. By working on it everyday, putting away a little knowledge, you will see the return over time.
There are four phases of becoming a leader…which one are you in? Did you even realize that you were on track to develop into a leader? Education is the key component to leadership.
Phase 1: You don’t know what you don’t know
Before you are able to begin the leadership journey, you need to first understand that anyone is able to become a leader. Many feel that leadership is only for a select few and end up missing a lot of opportunities that are presented to them. What they may not realize is that if they accept the premise that they can become a leader, a whole new world will open up.
Phase 2: Realizing that you need to learn
Once you’ve figured out that it is possible to step into a leadership role, what next? I’ve been in this position before. When I first moved into a leadership role, I thought that would be all I would need to do. I was so excited that I started out on my path. But when I turned around, I didn’t have anyone following. That is when I realized that I needed to learn even more, watch people I considered leaders, and have patience. I knew that I needed to learn more, develop more skills and began to search out my mentors that I could follow.
At this point, I fully came to understand that being involved with leadership was not something that you could just step into. It combines my knowledge with experience and time to propel me further along my journey. I began to invest even more in my leadership future.
Phase 3: Beginning to grow and show leadership
Once you have spent time learning and working with other leaders, you do begin to form the basis of leadership. This is an exciting time because you begin to show leadership abilities. It could be within the work place, your manager is beginning to put you in various roles of responsibility. It could be within the community, you start to be involved in committees and they start electing you in the leadership roles.
One characteristic of this phase is that you are beginning to be recognized as a leader, yet you still are working hard to achieve and continue to strive for knowledge every day. You begin to see that return on initial investment and it motivates you to search for more knowledge.
Phase 4: Leadership becomes second nature
After years of obtaining knowledge, creating experiences and growing through the process, leadership does become second nature. It is the same with any profession that individual excel at. The major league baseball player did not just start playing baseball the day before they were drafted. But after hours upon hours of practice and repetition, their muscles remember the various motions and the art of swinging a bat to throwing the baseball become second nature. After you have spent hours and hours practicing and learning the various skills of leadership, your mental muscles remember the motions involved and suddenly to other people you have “natural” leadership abilities.
Another key component of Phase 4 is that because you have strived to gain new knowledge that also becomes second nature. Your thirst for knowledge also grows which continually propels you to more and more leadership roles.
I encourage you to start on your journey if you have not already. The world of opportunities that surround “leaders” can be yours as well. There is no set timetable to achieving leadership; it is a lifelong adventure that allows you to enjoy life along the way. The one component that remains consistent is knowledge. Don’t be afraid to ask questions and then ask more questions.
