High-potentials are the future leaders of your organization. Future leaders are identified at a strategic level. There are many conversations around the executive table on the potential future leaders and their current skill set as well as their ability to stretch that skill set. The organization stretches and grows their professional skill set by giving them high-profile assignments or assigning them to areas they aren’t comfortable with. Start building your stepping stones to becoming a future leader by throwing these nine types of stones. Throw the right stones, make the right ripples and become a future leader.
You Can’t Make a Ripple Without Throwing a Stone
Anyone can make a difference regardless of the role they are in. For an organization to be successful, everyone must be participating. When you are standing on the sidelines you are not only holding yourself back but you are also holding the team back. If you don’t bring your best self, others can’t be their best. You don’t get noticed as a future leader by sitting on the sidelines, not fully contributing.
You can’t make a ripple in the pool without throwing stones. When throwing stones you need to make sure that they are productive, positive and are meaningful. They should encourage innovation and make people feel like they matter. Because the intent of throwing the stone is in the interest of doing the right thing. Throwing the right stones will build the stepping stones you need for your personal and professional leadership development.
Start building trust and developing yourself as a future leader by throwing these nine types of stones. They will get you noticed because they will send ripples of collaboration, innovation and continuous improvement throughout your organization. Each stone also will work on your personal relationships with your peers.
Nine Stones to Throw for Personal and Professional Leadership Development
You want to send the right ripples throughout your organization. The ripples should drive innovation and continuous improvement. They need to be guided by the organizational values. These are the stones that will help you evolve your career and reach your goals.
Throw Stones of Honesty and Vulnerability
Honesty and vulnerability are the main characteristics of leaders. Don’t say something if it is isn’t certain and remain honest in all your dealings. Be self-aware enough to know your blind spots and ask for help covering them. Because showing vulnerability will engender trust and loyalty which are necessary for effective leadership. This is stepping up.
Throw Stones of Personal Accountability
Mitigate the risk and account for the unexpected. Identify ways to deliver on what’s promised regardless of what gets in the way. People will always remember the person who takes accountability for their mistakes and the mistakes of the team. Doing so demonstrates your value for the team. It shows that you know your success is integrally tied to that of the team’s.
Throw Stones of Curiosity
Ask to step out of your job description and take on something that stretches your skills and capabilities. Show an interest in the business by asking questions about the business that are outside your area or that will benefit your area. The ability to demonstrate curiosity can go a long way in highlighting your future potential and leadership capabilities. Seek to understand, demonstrate a thirst of knowledge and growth.
Throw Stones of Feedback
Provide continuous feedback to your boss on what you are doing. Highlight the successes and talk through the challenges. Give them feedback on something they are doing. Asking for feedback is asking to improve. Don’t just ask your boss but ask your peers and internal or external customers. It shows engagement, desire, and drive. This demonstrates a continuous improvement mindset. All things that high-potentials possess.
Throw Stones of Learning From Failure
Allow failure to change you. Trying to hide or forget your mistakes are a huge no-no. Hold them near and dear and share them. Because making mistakes is a sign of learning. Accomplishments come from lessons learned from early failures. This shows you tried something. It demonstrations you took action.
Throw Stones of the Long-Term
Don’t just tell them where you want to go, tell them what you are doing to get there. Enlist their help by asking for a documented development plan that has check-in’s to review progress. Talk about what is next for you and what you need to get there. This demonstrates your interest to contribute in bigger ways. This also shows you are taking ownership over your career development and future.
Throw Stones on Missing Opportunities
When you find a glaringly obvious opportunity for the business to improve or benefit from, start the conversation. Don’t just throw it out there, make sure you back it up with research, facts, and figures. Put out a ripple of innovation for continuous improvement. This demonstrates your delivering real business value.
Throw Stones of Praise
Recognize other people’s achievements and do it loudly and publicly. Encouraging the recognition of others shows confidence in your standing within the organization. Throwing stones of praise will also help in building relationships by showing other people you valued their contribution. This confidence is a valued quality of high-potentials and future leaders.
Throw Stones of Relationship Building
Relationship building or networking, whatever you call it is it necessary in today’s business environment. Talk about the people you are talking to and what you are talking to them about. By talking to people throughout the organization you start to build relationships. Those people then start talking about talking with you. Before you know it your name is spreading. This also demonstrates initiative and collaboration. It is one of the truest signs of engagement. Getting relationship building right is heavily dependent on all of the stones you throw following the above guidelines. Don’t confuse this stone with name dropping.
If your stones are negative, toxic or poisonous they will have an opposite effect. You will see short term success but it won’t be sustained because eventually everything bad and negative surfaces. Because trust is so hard to earn and so easy to lose, use your stones wisely.
Become a future leader by regularly throwing these nine stones because they make the right ripples in the organization. Build stepping stones to a leadership role by being engaged, learning new things, contributing and having a desire to advance.
Last updated on November 11th, 2018 at 07:51 am
