Growing as an Emerging Leader

As an Emerging Leader your mindset should reflect that of a leader who is growing in strength and making a difference. Whether you are at the beginning of your leadership journey or 2 years in, these 4 areas can help you go from an Emerging Leader to an Executive Leader.

1.      Identifying ways to be a well-rounded leader

2.      Identifying your leadership style in comparison to the team’s needs

3.      Creating structure and implementing time management

4.      Challenging your own beliefs

Identifying ways to be a well-rounded leader

A well-rounded leader is able to show compassion, encourage effective communication, apply conflict resolution, be open-minded, show emotional intelligence, and develop a trusting relationship with those they are leading. An emerging leader may not be an expert in these areas but being able to display or apply the techniques is key. The expert status will come with education (certifications, reading material, videos) and experience.

Example: Your company has a policy about tardiness and if you are late 3 times you will be terminated. Employee A has been late twice and now you could either address the issue or just apply the policy if they are late again. When having a conversation with Employee A we find out that their child’s drop-off time for school changed. As a leader we can now show some compassion and suggest they modify their work schedule, address the tardy policy, and end with a reminder of your open-door system.  

Identifying your leadership style in comparison to the team’s needs

Knowing your leadership style is as important as knowing how your team needs support. If you are not sure of your leadership style, click here and take a moment to read the article “What is Leadership? Understanding different leadership styles” by NSLS. They break down 7 different types of leadership styles, their effectiveness and challenges.

After learning your style of leadership, it’s time to find out what your team needs to be supported and successful. This can easily be done by having them complete a team effectiveness questionnaire that your organization has developed, or one already created. If you need help getting started, I have included a link here to a team effectiveness questionnaire from cu.edu.

Example: Let’s imagine that your leadership style is a Servant Leadership Style. This means you put the needs of the team first. Your team completes a team effectiveness questionnaire, and you determine they feel like they have not been heard in the past by other leaders. Here is your opportunity to apply your skills of listening and empathy as a servant leader. Hear the teams concerns about projects or their feelings of being overwhelmed.   

Creating Structure and implementing time management expectations

Structure starts at a person’s initial interview or with the first meeting of a group. The feeling a person has during their first interaction can determine how they receive every action/word afterwards. One of the best ways to create structure and implement time management is by planning. We know that no plan is perfect, but it helps make us more successful and less stressed.

Example: When a person arrives for an interview plan to have the receptionist send you a message and assure them that the interviewer is aware they have arrived and will be with them soon. A great way to ensure everyone’s time is respected and managed is the interviewer can get the interviewee on the dot of the appointment or as a bonus, since they arrived early, maybe going out 2-3 minutes before the scheduled interview to bring them back. I have spoken to people before who have left if the interviewer has not called them back at least within 10 minutes of their scheduled interview or has not indicated they are running behind. For them this shows a lack of structure or concern for time management.   

Challenging you own beliefs  

Every person has their own beliefs that they stand on and may find hard to adjust. When you are an Emerging Leader challenging your own beliefs is something that you may have to do more often than you would like. This does not mean you have to abandon your beliefs but instead ask yourself if any adjustments need to be made.

Example: I have the belief that if a person enters a room and others are there then giving a greeting is a must. As a leader if I enter a room and say, “Good Morning” and the person does not respond then this gives me an opportunity to challenge my belief. I can choose to get offended or find out if there is an issue. Maybe the person just didn’t hear me, they were concentrating on something else, they were in a negative mood or maybe they are just rude! Either way this is a chance for me to make a choice on how I will handle it as an Emerging Leader.   

Tiffany Mills-Howell

Leadership Development Consultant