How to set up your corporate leadership career early
A junior’s guide to stepping into leadership
Where it all begins.
My dream of being a leader was ignited at a very early age. Well, I’m not sure about some of you, but when I think of my earliest memory of leadership it always takes me back to career day. Our teacher would go around the class asking us one by one, “what would you like to be when you grow up?”, and there I was, proud as ever, ready to take the stage… “Ma’am, I want to be President!” — as cliché as it might sound, I wanted to rule the world!
Years down the line, you’ve conquered school and you’ve just been employed in this big organisation. And as you have it, you still want to be ‘president’, because you’ve always wanted to ‘rule’. The question is, how do you start?
If you ask a CEO or CFO, they’ll tell you it’s never too early to begin preparing for your big career moves [1]. I’m no stranger to leadership and peer-to-peer education as I’ve helped young womxn and girls across South Africa by equipping them with the necessary skills to become authentic leaders in whichever space they are in.
Leadership has many definitions, it isn’t about a word in your title, a fancy salary, or any specific characteristic like charisma or extroversion. Leadership takes on many forms and the journey you take will be as unique as you. In this article, I will focus on what you can do to build the foundation for being a great leader.
1. Focus on problem-solving, not getting promoted.
Problem-solving is the essence of what leaders exist to do. You must have the courage to tackle problems head-on and build your resilience. Mastering the art of problem-solving allows you to have the patience to step back from a problem and see it in a broadened view. The goal is to see around, beneath, and beyond the problem itself. Leadership theorists of the early 2000s, Prestwood and Schumann, stated that leadership is a state of mind [2]. The greatest CEOs around have shown us that leadership is exactly that and not just a journey to a big seat in a big fancy office.
In the early stages of our careers, we will be handed many tasks, some big and some small. Your mindset should simply be to achieve those tasks and solve those problems beyond what is expected — this is your first step to laying your leadership foundation.
2. Begin to act, think and communicate like the leader you aspire to be [3].
Simon Sinek once said, “be the leader you wish to work for” [4]. It is important to visualize yourself in the role you want to be in, the faith you have in yourself, and your abilities will drive you to stay focused. This focus will help you never to take your eyes off the bigger picture. You can start acting like a leader in the smallest ways, for example, by taking charge of different pieces of work given to you.
In those pieces of work, communicate and think like the leader you want to be. We’re programming our brains to already see ourselves in our future roles. What you learn as a follower will prepare you to be a greater leader than you imagined.
3. Become the best follower you can be.
As Aristotle said, “He who cannot be a good follower, cannot be a good leader.” [5] Becoming a good follower is not about blindly following formal authorities in your organization. It is simply about following the vision of your current leaders. We spoke about vision in our second point, now we need to ensure we can help others achieve their vision as well.
Great followers build rapport and influence with people around them who share similar visions and beliefs. If you have the ability to see the vision of your current leaders and are helping to bring that vision to life, you are following with intent. Leaders in organizations have formal authority but they mostly rely on the informal authority and influence that they exercise on people. What you learn as a follower will prepare you to be a greater leader than you imagined.
Our foundation is set.
Being a leader or someone people look up to is about ensuring you have a strong foundation that will help you throughout your career.
We now have our three points to focus on as we move up the corporate ladder and step into leadership roles:
1. Become a great problem solver
2. Act, think and communicate like the leader you want to be
3. Be a great follower, will set your path to success.
These are the points I have learned along the way. As you grow and carve your journey, the list will grow. By starting this journey early, you allow yourself to learn, evolve, and become a dynamic leader.
It’s never too early to start.
Works Cited
[1] G. Klawansky, “CFO South Africa,” 24 October 2022. [Online]. Available: https://cfo.co.za/articles/its-never-too-early-to-get-to-the-top/. [Accessed November 2022].
[2] D. R. a. L. B. Kari Keating, “Developmental Readiness for Leadership: The Differential Effects of Leadership Courses on Creating “Ready, Willing, and Able” Leaders,” Journal of Leadership Education, 2014.
[3] R. Thomas, “TLNT,” 22 October 2019. [Online]. Available: https://www.tlnt.com/become-the-leader-you-wish-you-had/. [Accessed November 22].
[4] S. Sinek, “Be the Leader you wish you had,” [Online]. Available: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/simon-sinek_be-the-leader-you-wish-you-had-activity-6594679075242029056-x_z5/?trk=public_profile_like_view.
[5] B. Schroeder, “To be a great leader, learn hot to be a great follower: the four rules of following,” Jewish Leadership Academy, 2019.
[6] K. Keating, “Developmental Readiness for Leadership: The Differential Effects of Leadership Courses on Creating “Ready, Willing, and Able” Leaders,” Journal of Leadership Education, October 2014.
[7] M. Buckley, “Medium,” 30 March 2020. [Online]. Available: https://medium.com/swlh/what-makes-a-great-business-leader-ebc8d29ec8e9.
[8] P. Juneja, “Foundation Pillars of Successful Leaders,” [Online]. Available: https://www.managementstudyguide.com/foundation-pillars-of-successful-leaders.htm.
