Leading and building teams is not for the faint of heart. How have you developed your leadership skills to be the best leader you never had?

Most of us learn how to lead from watching others - our parents, sports coaches, managers in our workplace. But how do you find your way to your authentic style of leading? Maybe that's different from what you've been shown - and maybe our workplaces, our communities, our families need it to be.

Leadership is a skill, one that must be learned, practiced, honed, and is best when also stamped with your own authenticity and aligned to your values. Meanwhile, in the workplace it often feels like you're stuck - “how do I practice those skills when I don’t have the job yet?” I believe every one of us can lead in the work we have right now - but we’ve got to link the skills needed in the next role to the work at hand. Then we get to practice, making us more ready when the time is right!

Becoming a leader of people is one of the biggest career shifts you can make - it is momentous for us personally, and brings with it the responsibility for the experience of others. Most of us got promoted because we were really expert at the role we were in, but as a leader the skills have to shift: from being an expert yourself, to supporting a diverse team made up of other experts, people with their own aspirations, at different phases of learning, and sometimes people who are struggling. Each of those team members needs something different from you, and the group as a whole will take on a personality under your stewardship. Every leader I’ve supported has tons of doubt, questions, uncertainties, and habits they need to let go of to make these shifts - and once they do, especially when it is true to their authentic selves, they all say “I will never go back”. It’s transformational.

Meanwhile, as we progress and grow in career, taking on new scope or new roles, the skills shift again. Executive leaders are now responsible for total organizations, holistic strategies, higher stakes, and more. Mapping the strengths you already have to the scope required in your next role is not a playbook many organizations hand out - and the higher you go, the less support tends to be offered. Mentors can help, but an executive coach can help decode what’s true now for what needs to be true next.

So as our workplaces and communities and families need these skills more than ever, and as you tackle your leadership path - will you be ready? Will you be set up for success? What will need to shift as you progress in responsibility and take on new teams?

Authentic, human leadership is a passion of mine and key to my own story. If you're getting ready to make a leadership shift in your own life and career, and you're finding gaps in the support your organization or role models have given you - you are not alone, and working with a professional leadership coach can help you chart your unique path.

Whether you are looking to grow your own leadership approach, practice new skills, break through to the executive level, or to grow your team through your leadership - coaching can help you achieve your goals.