The Path for New Leaders

Now comes the time to begin putting theory into practice. Given a chance to make mistakes and take feedback to do better the next time, this type of on-the-job training is second to none.
 
Like toddlers who learn how to stand by falling a few times, so do we as adults need to gain our innate confidence to lead in the future. This confidence-building allows new leaders to make good intuitive decisions over time.
 
I know my journey to intuitive decision making came from a feeling I resonated with. As time went on this feeling became stronger and deeper. If I did not get that feeling, I would either defer my decision to a later time or reject the idea completely.
 
It was only later when I learnt Neuro Linguistic Programming (NLP) that I realized I was making intuitive decisions rather than logical ones that didn’t stand the course.
 
Gaining confidence in making decisions, I was then able to take responsibility and be accountable for projects. Extending to people-management also began to seem do-able where before it was something in the “too hard” basket.
 
This type of hands-on experience in learning how to be a leader was fundamental to my success. Learning the ropes of how to build and maintain rapport also became challenging until these, termed as basic skills in the NLP toolbox, were learnt.
 
In many ways I later realized that when new things ahead of me loomed difficult like a dark cloud, the important thing was to learn about the subject. As I understood more, the task seemed more do-able and my level of confidence rose.
 
It was then I realized the importance of continuous learning. Attending workshops became a must. I chose topics within leadership that I was weak in. My focus was to pad areas that had gaps so I could feel confident around the leadership subject eventually.
 
Tracing my leadership journey, I see how organisations have the potential to garner their high performers at every level towards a strong leadership path.
 
Why look outside when there are leadership gems waiting to be nurtured?