Almost every team has employees who have leadership potential, but for some reason don’t show their abilities or are simply unaware of them.
Every boss needs to know which employees are potential leaders. Firstly, if there are unrealized leaders in the company, they often begin to have a destructive effect on the team. Secondly, employees with leadership potential can be included in the talent pool, assigned as project managers, assigned to solve organizational issues or use their abilities to build a team.
Well, for you as an employee, it’s important to be able to show that you’re ready to become a leader and ready to take on new responsibilities.
However, just knowing that you’re a hidden leader isn’t enough to have a positive effect. You need to improve your leadership skills. In doing so, you need to show them correctly to your boss.
So, if you want to show your leadership potential to your boss, here’s what you have to know.
Why don’t employees realize their leadership potential
First, let’s define what a hidden leader means. You shouldn’t confuse them with informal leaders. The latter are aware of their abilities and show them in the team. They don’t have a formal leadership position, but due to their personal qualities, behavior, they occupy a special position.
To know what should be an informal leader is also necessary because such an employee can attract colleagues both to a new project, and sabotage the decisions of management.
Latent leaders are employees who have leadership potential but don’t know it or don’t show it. For example, a person never stands out from the crowd, but as soon as he suggests something, hints at something, everyone around already lights up with the idea, approves it, and supports it. Or an employee in large groups takes the role of a subordinate but is activated in certain situations, in which he has advantages over others.
The hidden leader is unable to realize his or her potential primarily because of fear of being unconventional, of not fitting into social frameworks and perceptions, of making unusual decisions, and fear of taking responsibility.
In addition, many people think that by showing leadership qualities, they can cross someone’s path or “get into the wrong business”. Often in a male team, women don’t express themselves, leaving the role of leader to the man. Another reason is the presence of a stronger leader in the team or unwillingness to show their potential in this particular company.
How to show your boss that you are ready to become a leader
If you have been in the same position for a long time and are willing to take on additional responsibility, you can improve your abilities and show your leadership qualities by showing them to your boss.
Help your colleagues
When a difficulty arises, immediately come to help with a solution, rather than waiting for your boss to fix the problem himself. The key to a promotion is to show that you know how to solve problems and that your boss can rely on you. You can’t get promoted by staying away from company problems.
Show you’re ready for new responsibilities
You need to prove that you can easily handle your current workload even if you take on additional responsibilities. You don’t need to be a genius to understand that you will need to work hard to get a promotion, but you also need to be able to manage your time.
Working efficiently means that you know how to prioritize which tasks are most important to you and your company, instead of blindly working on the tasks you’re given from above.
Predict possible tasks and problems of top management
Everyone has a boss, someone to impress, including your own boss – because he has a higher-ranking boss, too. To grow quickly, you need to learn to predict tasks and problems that arise, not from you or your immediate boss, but from your boss’s boss – in top management.
In this way, you will make life easier for upper management, and you will prove that you’re capable of greater responsibility. It’s a whole other level, and if you’re capable of it, it won’t take long before you’re promoted.
Stay business oriented
A good leader at any level of his or her position understands the company as a whole and thinks beyond his or her role. Align your daily tasks with the mission and goals of the company. Know what your competitors are doing, and try to learn about areas of the company that you don’t understand, such as finance – ask people what they do.
The more you understand how all the different parts work together, the better decisions you will make that will help the company achieve its goals.
Give solutions that surpass expectations
The surefire way to get a promotion is to exceed your boss’s expectations. Talk to your boss and identify the tasks you need to work on, and then try to accomplish them more than 100 percent. Show that not only do you have ideas on how to move the company forward but that you know how to complete projects from start to finish and communicate with other departments.
Be a reliable and trustworthy person
Companies value reliable employees who have a reputation for being able to carry out the tasks given to them, be loyal, and, if necessary, keep their mouths shut. Try to be the kind of person your top management can rely on in any situation.
Find a mentor
A well-chosen mentor can help open doors and guide you down the right path to your advancement. An expert can show you where you’re going wrong or push you to improve. He or she will tell you how to make the most of the opportunities available to you and show you how to become the best version of yourself.
Keep learning
Learning is a lifelong process that never ends. It’s the soul of progress at every stage of life. When it comes to business, remember that progress is what helps any business grow.
Developing new skills and improving the ones you already possess means more opportunities for your boss and hopefully a promotion for you. Bosses appreciate employees who constantly demonstrate their thirst for knowledge by taking the time to learn new skills that can benefit the company.
As technology and other environmental factors rapidly evolve, the need to update your knowledge in various ways increases. And it’s necessary not only for your job but also to stay in the marketplace.
One common mistake most employees make is refusing to pay attention to developments and trends beyond their expertise. You shouldn’t limit yourself to any area you like, because at some point in your career, a lot of other information may be useful.
Bosses argue that openness is the key to keeping up with new trends, technologies, and skills needed for their jobs. And even if it all turns out to be completely useless, you have shown your ability to learn and improve when needed.
However, learning also includes making mistakes. Many people give up at the first sign of failure. Nevertheless, you should realize that failure isn’t a dead end. There will be more chances, more opportunities to prove ourselves. Don’t let mistakes distract you. After all, no one can avoid them.
