You may not have the word manager or supervisor in your job title but that doesn't mean you can't develop leadership skills in your current position. Starting to develop these skills early on in your career can help you when opportunities for growth present themselves. Follow these tips to start developing your skills today.
Be approachable
Probably one of the easiest things you can do to help develop your leadership skills is to get to know everyone on your team. Ask them to lunch or assist them on a project. Getting to know them one on one can help you determine their strengths and weaknesses so you know for future projects. You can even go out for a drink after work to get to know them on a more person level outside of work. Knowing your other team members helps you to effectively work together which can increase production making any manager happy.
Take Initiative
Show off your leadership skills by taking on more responsibility without being asked. See a problem that needs fixing? Could a process be improved? Create a solution and take it to your manager. You can also simply ask for more responsibilities as well. This will show your manager that you want to learn, take on more and grow your leadership skills.
Creativity & Positivity
Encourage your teammates to come up with creative ideas whether it be for a campaign, solution to a problem or a team outing. Be supportive of those ideas in a positive way. If you think there may be a way to improve their idea go about it in a way that doesn't discourage them from coming up with any ideas in the future. Suggest alternatives and work together to create the perfect plan.
Motivate yourself
Why do you want to be in a leadership position? Is it solely for the title and big bucks or do you want to be a leader to help and inspire others? Once you know what motivates you it is easy to stay motivated. Things take time so don't try and hurry along or you may end up developing the wrong skills. Ask for feedback along the way. Does your boss notice your extra work? Do they understand why you want to develop leadership skills? Having a plan with them will help. They are already in a leadership role and can be a mentor for you.
Wanting to grow and develop leadership skills is natural if you want to advance in your career. Starting early has its advantages. Speak with your manager and lay out a plan. Don't let leadership opportunities fall to the wayside because you don't possess the certain skills you need. What are some ways you develop your leadership skills?