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No, this monthly column isn’t about a Harry Potter magic trick or an old episode of Bewitched.
In my last column, we talked about important leadership traits and abilities. As a leader your character traits and abilities are important for two reasons.
First, people are more likely to join and follow someone they admire. So, a person’s character traits enable them to attract and influence others in accomplishing a goal.
Second, when others perceive your traits and abilities to lead others, new opportunities open up for you. So, in either case, your traits and abilities need to be seen by others.
At a recent session of the Leadership Chatuge program at the Hinton Center, Murphy Mayor Tim Radford reflected on his career. He said, “I started working at the radio station when I was just a kid, but I must have ‘raised some eyebrows’ there because the owner opened some doors for me at another radio station in Raleigh when I went off to college. In every job I had I did my best, and others noticed and opened doors to next opportunity.”
Tim’s comment underscores an important principle. The skills and abilities you demonstrate as an individual contributor in your current job are what gets you noticed and opens doors to future opportunities.
Several years ago, Entrepreneur Magazine did a feature story entitled “If You Can LEAD You Will SUCCEED.” The article reviewed some research that showed that the “perceived ability to lead others” is a powerful predictor of career success. If you are “perceived” as someone who can lead, you are much more likely to:
u Get called in for a job interview when applying for work.
u Receive a promotion within the first two years.
u Attain higher earnings over the course of your career.
u Have a more positive reputation in your organization and community.
In fact, a person’s “perceived ability to lead others” is more important than “technical competence” in predicting career success.
Individuals often think they have “potential” for leadership. However, it is important to realize that your “potential” for leadership is a judgment made about you by others who can provide you opportunities. Those others need to perceive that you have what it takes to lead others.
In a recent article entitled, “A Reflection of a Reluctant Leader,” elementary school teacher Lori Holguin wrote:
In my mind, I saw myself as a leader. I had the desire to lead and some skills that would be useful, but I continued to shy away from leadership opportunities that excited me. All my life, my fears about actually leading others held me back from volunteering for leadership roles or saying yes to opportunities for which I would be a good fit.
A few years ago, I attended a Leadership Conference. I was reluctant to go but others encouraged me. At the conference, I worked on identifying my strengths and became increasingly aware of the situations that triggered my fears. I also began practicing taking small steps outside my comfort zone and as I did my confidence grew.
Others gradually began to see leadership potential in me and provided me with encouragement and new opportunities to lead. Since then, I have chaired several committees, led monthly staff meetings in my department, and moved from the classroom to a position of leadership in my school district. Today, the fears that once held me back are a distant memory.
My life has been transformed because I learned to develop the leadership potential that was always inside me.
Lori was initially reluctant to lead. But she listened to encouragement from her peers, got some training, had the courage to step outside her comfort zone by taking some small steps, and when she acted, she raised some eyebrows and doors opened. So, in whatever setting you are currently in … your workplace, church, school, an HOA, a civic club or a community project … think about how you can raise some eyebrows by showing your strengths.
Michael Donovan is a contributing writer for the Cherokee Scout and adjunct professor at Young Harris College. His book Leading – Helping Others Achieve Results is available on Amazon. For comments and feedback, contact him at 727-460-8759 or pdsdoc1@aol.com.