In the course of this book, we’re going to cover a whole load of different ideas, tips and techniques for stepping up to a leadership role. We’ve organised them into five key stages, from your own personal development as a leader to how you engage and harness the talents of other people to build your team and deliver results. These steps cover the five ‘Vs’ which we think are essential for any aspiring leader to master:
- Vision: understanding fundamental changes in your industry and turning them to your advantage
- Values: grounding your leadership in a mission that really matters to you
- Velocity: powering up new skills to give your leadership journey momentum
- Votes: Finding, building and inspiring a brilliant team to make the dream a reality
- Victories: working as a leader to enable and deliver the best results
Step 1 Vision: reset the rules
#TL;DR In a world that’s moving faster than ever before, how do you get to grips with change and turn it to your advantage?
We view today’s age of accelerated change as a reality, a challenge, but primarily an opportunity for emerging leaders. Change is something you can turn to your advantage: a new trend or technology is something you could be one of the first people to really understand, and make work for your business. The first step to becoming a leader is to immerse yourself in what is changing within your chosen industry, and to be one of the people who is shaping the way things will be done tomorrow. You need the vision to see the way of the future, and to be the one who takes advantage of it. This section will cover:
- How the world is changing and why that matters for you on your leadership journey
- How you can turn change to your advantage: tracking and responding to key industry developments
- The opportunities change offers: to become an expert on a new trend, and to experiment with new ideas cheaply and quickly
- Why we need to reset our leadership culture: with new and more diverse leaders
Step 2 Values: make it matter
#TL;DR Why do you want to lead and how can you make your development as a leader authentic and meaningful to you?
One of the most important steps to becoming a leader is understanding why you want to lead in the first place. Is it simply for the extrinsic benefits of salary and status, is it to leave your mark, or is it to fulfil a deeper desire to have an impact in a way that matters to you? We believe that the best leaders are those who want to change things for the better, and to tackle some of the big challenges the world faces, from climate change and emergent epidemics to data privacy and social fragmentation. And you don’t have to be a big name CEO to contribute to those efforts. In this section, we will look at:
- Why you should explore your personal motivation to lead, and the values that it is based upon
- How you can shape and establish a defining leadership mission that will grow and evolve with you through different roles
- How you can put that mission into practice, finding your CLAN and an ideal place to fulfil that mission
Step 3 Velocity: invest in yourself
#TL;DR How can you develop the skills, mindset and resilience you will need to generate momentum that powers your leadership development?
We all have leadership potential, but successful leaders are those who build up specific skills and capabilities that equip them for the many challenges of the role. Being a good leader is not just about doing your own job well, it’s about creating the environment for others to succeed and grow as well. To do that, you will need to focus on powering up specific new skills, ones that equip you to step up to the responsibilities of leadership. And you need to invest in your own personal confidence and well-being, to ensure you are equipped for the rigours of leadership. In this third step, we will look at:
- The core leadership intelligences, beyond IQ and EQ
- The characteristics of leaders who step up: what they are and how you can develop them
- Proactive strategies for building and maintaining your confidence
- Why you need to invest time and effort in building a leadership network
- The central importance of personal well-being as a leader
Step 4 Votes: invest in your team
#TL;DR How do you find, build and nurture the team that will make the difference between you being a lone voice and a great leader?
No leader has ever succeeded alone. To deliver, you will need to build a team around you, of brilliant employees, peers, supporters and advisers. The most important investments of any leader are in their team, bringing together a brilliant group of people, building their trust and confidence and ultimately winning their vote. This section will look at how you achieve that, including:
- How you find great people and manage the complexities of recruitment
- How you can motivate your team and unlock the full extent of their talent
- Why courage and kindness are key leadership qualities
- How to create a culture that enables a team to grow and evolve
Step 5 Victories: deliver brilliant results!
#TL;DR What can you do in the everyday management of teams or the projects you lead to deliver – and demonstrate – brilliant results?
In the end, all the brightest ideas, the best intentions and the boldest plans hinge on one thing: delivery. Whether it’s a company vision, team strategy or project plan, it may sound great, but can you actually get it done? If you want to boil down the essence of great leadership to a single attribute, it would be the ability to inspire and deliver results. Creating the magic blend of purpose, people and process that delivers the precious cargo in one piece. Being the enabler that somehow allows everything else to fall into place. This final section will share our experience on how to achieve victories as a leader, with focus areas including:
- Why you need to provide constant clarity as a leader, in planning, communication and people management
- How you can navigate the tide of uncertainty you will face as a leader