Part Two

Add Something New to Your Game

IF YOU’RE SERIOUS about developing yourself as a leader, you need to do more than just leverage your strengths and minimize your weaknesses. Those are just the skills you have today. In order to break out and move up the organizational ladder, you need to continually add new elements to your leadership toolkit. The leaders who stand still are destined to stay at their current level or even fall behind. If you’re not constantly learning and adding new capabilities, your peers will leave you in the dust, and you’ll be surpassed by the group of managers coming up behind you. Don’t think so? Better look around—those bright, ambitious managers who thrive on development? They’d love to have your job. In today’s world, it’s becoming clear that you have to expand and improve your management skills if you want to grow with the organization.

The first thing you need to do is figure out what leadership means to you; it’s hard to chart a new course of skills development when you don’t know the game you’re supposed to be playing. Moreover, you need to have a consistent way of talking about your leadership philosophy. Is a concise articulation of who you are as a leader in your repertoire? Do you have a specific plan for adding new skills, and in what areas do you need to focus? Where can you leverage a learning opportunity that also benefits the company?

Maybe you want to learn more about the origins of leadership and understand the foundational principles of managing people. Or maybe you’re ready to pickup a business book that has nothing to do with your industry or function. Consider adding some new leadership techniques to your repertoire, such as coaching or a new way to empower your people. Why not create capacity for yourself by adapting some new time management skills? That would allow you time to actually think and reflect, which might lead to even more ideas for skills development. Now there’s a worthy concept: more time to explore new ways to develop your leadership skills. You see how fun this is going to be?