Being a leader is not merely a function of your title or position, nor is it an innate ability.
It is, in fact, a skill that can be developed, sharpened, and perfected over time.
Whether you are looking to lead a team at work, influence your peers, or simply elevate your personal leadership game, you can do so through your daily actions and how you choose to show up.
When I started at L'Oréal, we had a week of onboarding presentations with the VPs of each division and there was 1 specific moment I will forever remember.
The VP of our luxury division came in, dressed impeccably and like a true gentleman. He went on to do this 1 gesture that blew us all away. Instead of jumping into his presentation like every other speak earlier that week, he came around the room, shook the hand of all 50 employees and asked us our name and 1-2 questions about ourselves. I remember thinking WOW!
I did not know a lot about leadership back then or what it truly meant but I immediately knew that I wanted to be a leader like that. Someone who, regardless of titles, success and accolades, is generous, kind and makes you feel like you matter.
True leaders inspire this sense of purpose and belonging among their teams, fostering an atmosphere where each member feels valued and empowered. This requires a delicate balance of humility and confidence, where you are seen as approachable and relatable, yet well grounded in your convictions.
Here's how.
Pitfalls hurting your leadership game
Building your leadership skills takes patience, intention and thoughtfulness.
I started building my leadership skills from a young age in my career, well before I was a people manager or had "Senior" in my job title. I demonstrated this through how I collaborated with my direct and indirect teams, ensuring they felt heard and inspired to drive positive change alongside me.
With that in mind, here are 5 mistakes hurting your ability to be perceived as a leader:
→ Failing to listen actively: Leadership is as much about listening as it is about directing. Overlooking the insights, concerns, and contributions of team members can isolate you and diminish your effectiveness as a leader.
→ Neglecting personal growth: Resting on your laurels or becoming complacent about personal development can stunt your leadership trajectory. Continuous learning, openness to feedback, and a commitment to self-improvement are hallmarks of great leaders.
→ Underestimating emotional intelligence (EQ): EQ plays a pivotal role in leadership. The ability to understand and manage your emotions and those of others can enhance your leadership capabilities, improving communication, conflict resolution, and team cohesion.
→ Over-reliance on authority: Leveraging positional power to compel obedience can yield compliance but not commitment. True leadership inspires action through influence, not authority, leading to a culture of mutual respect and shared purpose.
→ Ignoring the power of visibility: Remaining in the shadows or avoiding the limelight can make it difficult for others to recognize your leadership potential. Visibility, through active participation in key projects and company initiatives, is crucial for being perceived as a leader.
3 strategies to build your leadership skills
1/ Demonstrate strategic vision
Great leaders do not just focus on the present—they are constantly looking ahead, anticipating challenges, and envisioning opportunities that will shape the future.
Developing a strategic vision is the cornerstone of leadership because it guides decision-making, inspires others, and aligns teams with a clear goal. When you are able to articulate a compelling vision of where you want to go, you are able to bring people along on the journey with confidence and purpose.
This is where you see beyond the day-to-day operations, anticipating future trends, challenges, and opportunities, and aligning your team’s efforts accordingly. It is about crafting a narrative of where the organization is heading, why it matters, and how each team member plays a crucial role in that journey.
Here are 5 steps to put this into action:
→ Practice future-thinking: Set aside time each week to explore future trends in your industry or field. A 30 min block every Friday is a great starting point. Think about how these trends could impact your organization or role in the next 3-5 years and translate that into practical insights.
→ Craft a clear and compelling vision statement: Start by articulating a clear, concise vision statement that outlines the future direction of the team or organization. This statement should be ambitious yet achievable, providing a clear goal that everyone can rally behind.
Example: "My vision is to create a workplace culture where every team member feels valued, supported, and empowered to reach their full potential. I will achieve this by promoting open communication, recognizing individual achievements, and providing opportunities for professional growth and development. This vision reflects my belief in the importance of mental well-being, trust, and collaboration, and my commitment to building a positive environment where people thrive both personally and professionally. Together, we will create a stronger, more unified team that is motivated to achieve outstanding results."
→ Communicate your vision widely and frequently: Share your vision through every available channel whether meetings, emails, company newsletters, and 1-on-1 conversations. Ensure that every team member understands the vision and sees how their work contributes to its realization. Repetition and clarity are critical.
→ Incorporate multiple perspectives: Engage with colleagues, mentors, or company leaders to gather diverse viewpoints on future challenges and opportunities. Ask probing questions to expand your vision and ensure you are incorporating the biggest pain points so that your vision gains the buy-in it requires.
→ Be adaptable and monitor your progress: As circumstances change, be willing to adjust your strategy while staying committed to your end goal. Implement a system to track progress towards your vision. Use data and feedback to make informed decisions, and be prepared to adjust your strategy in response to new challenges and opportunities.
[Check out my LinkedIn Learning course on Storytelling to Influence Leadership and Decision-Makers].
2/ Be a great teacher
A great leader is also a mentor, coach, and teacher. The ability to teach others is a powerful leadership tool that fosters growth, innovation, and independence within your team.
Leaders who teach their teams how to think, not just what to do, create an environment of continuous learning and problem-solving. This in turn empowers their people to take initiative and achieve better outcomes without as much dependence on the leader themselves.
That said, this is probably one of the hardest shifts when transitioning into a people leader role for the first time when you had previously been used to doing everything yourself.
You can easily fall into the trap of an "I can do it faster myself"or "I can do it better myself" mentality and this will hurt your ability to teach others how to take the reigns and support you best.
So instead, here are 5 steps to effectively teach those around you:
→ Lead by example: Share your knowledge and experiences freely. When you model the behaviours and thinking patterns you want to see in others, they are more likely to adopt them. It also shows that you are never above the work or too far removed to be in their shoes and help them to feel understood.
→ Ask, don’t tell: Instead of providing direct answers, ask questions that encourage your team members to think critically and find solutions on their own. It will help your teams, peers and support functions to build the muscle of thinking on their feet and facilitate better decision-making.
→ Provide clear feedback: Constructive feedback is essential for growth. Give specific, actionable feedback that helps people understand what they are doing well and where they can improve. You can even have your team redo the task or area needing improvement alongside you, but have them lead it so they are learning by doing instead of simply watching.
→ Encourage peer learning: Foster a culture of knowledge-sharing among team members. Encourage them to teach each other and collaborate on solving complex problems. Pro tip: Identify a key strength in each of your team members and empower them to share that strength in supporting others on it. For example, if one of your team members is great at putting together presentations, let them take a more active role in supporting other team members in this area.
→ Celebrate growth: Recognize and reward learning efforts, not just end results. This helps to build a growth mindset across your team and reinforces the value of continuous development. More than ever, people want to feel like they are part of something bigger than themselves so be the leader who celebrates the small wins, the big wins and the progress to get from point A to point B.
3/ Lead with empathy for win-win relationships
Empathy is the ability to understand and connect with the feelings of others, and it is an essential leadership skill that builds trust, respect, and loyalty.
Leaders who lead with empathy are able to foster stronger, more authentic relationships daily and over time. These relationships inspire and empower others to bring their best selves to work.
Empathetic leaders also create environments where team members feel supported and valued, which leads to higher morale, engagement, and productivity.
For example, one of my clients working at Starbucks is in charge of facilitating global round-table workshops with the heads of country for her global teams. We worked closely on building her leadership skills through empathy in both the preparation and delivery of the workshop to ensure a collaborative exchange where all voices were heard and growing pains were overcome.
Here are 5 action steps to lead with empathy:
→ Active listening: Show genuine interest in your team members’ ideas, concerns, and feedback. Active listening involves fully concentrating on what is being said rather than just passively hearing the message. You are not listening to respond but rather, listening to understand. This also opens more doorways for you to bring more value their way.
→ Get to know your team: Take the time to learn about your team members' personal and professional challenges. Showing genuine interest in their lives helps you build stronger bonds because they know you care about them as a person, first and foremost. Also, make yourself available for your team and encourage open communication. An open-door policy can help in making team members feel that they can approach you with their thoughts, concerns, or ideas at any time.
→ Offer support: When a team member is struggling, offer help or resources that could assist them in overcoming obstacles. Sometimes, just being there for someone is enough to make a difference. Asking questions like "What can I help you with today?" or "What can I help take off your plate?" will provide them with the additional support they need at this time.
→ Recognize emotions in the room: Pay attention to non-verbal cues and tone of voice. These signals can tell you a lot about how someone is feeling, even if they have not explicitly said anything. A great leader will quickly pick up on these kinds of changes in their team or those they work with and, as a result, lean into this as an opportunity to build deeper relationships by taking the time to understand where these shifts may be stemming from.
→ Lead with compassion: Approach difficult conversations with empathy. Instead of focusing solely on outcomes, acknowledge how the situation might be affecting the person emotionally and work together to find a solution. Put judgement aside and replace it with openness, kindness and understanding. Opening statements like "I can only imagine how tough this may be for you..." or "I can certainly appreciate how you are feeling right now..." will foster open dialogue and more meaningful breakthroughs.
How will you build your leadership skills?
Being an effective leader is not an overnight process, but by focusing on these 3 areas of strategic vision, teaching, and empathy, you will become the type of leader others want to follow. Leadership is not about commanding others, power or control. Rather, it is about inspiring and enabling others to succeed alongside you in which they feel empowered and mobilized to drive positive change.
You've got this!
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This week's mission is aimed at building yourself up as an effective leader. Through the below prompts and action steps, you will make key strides that positively impact your leadership and influence.
1/ Demonstrate strategic vision:
- Set aside 30 minutes this week to research future trends in your industry. Identify 1 trend that could significantly impact your team or organization and consider how you can prepare for it.
- Write down your long-term vision for your team or career. Break it down into specific goals, and choose 1 one actionable step you can take this week to move closer to that vision.
2/ Teach and empower others:
- Identify 1 area where a team member, colleague or someone you know could benefit from coaching or guidance. Schedule a short meeting with them to ask thought-provoking questions that encourage them to think critically and solve the problem independently.
- This week, make it a point to give one piece of constructive feedback to someone you know. Focus on specific behaviours and offer suggestions for improvement in a way that helps them grow.
3/ Lead with empathy:
- Spend time with a team member or colleague in a non-work setting, like having a casual coffee or chat. Ask about their well-being, listen actively, and get to know them on a more personal level.
- During your next meeting, consciously observe the body language and tone of voice of others. Then, reflect on how you might use empathy to address any unspoken concerns or emotions you noticed.
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