Latest updated: 26 June 2023

Becoming a leader is not something that happens on the day you are promoted to a managerial position. On the contrary, if you want to reach a leadership position within your team or workplace, you must first demonstrate that you already possess leadership qualities and are suitable for such a role. But how do you demonstrate these qualities? And how can you develop your leadership even if you are not a formal leader? Here are some tips along the way.

If your goal is to attain a leadership position, you must first convince employers and colleagues through your actions that you have the potential to be a leader. This is not an impossible task – regardless of where you work and what role you currently have, you can certainly find numerous opportunities to exercise an inspiring, informal leadership.

Another good news is that you can train yourself to lead and make your leadership visible to others. Not all great leaders are born; some acquire the ability to show the way to success through training and experience.

The specific qualities you need to train or enhance depend on your current situation. You must begin by analyzing your own behavior, strengths, weaknesses, potential, and limitations. Based on this, you can then start training in the leadership qualities you have identified as important to develop and highlight. Effective leadership often consists of a range of behaviors, habits, and methods that can be strengthened within a relatively short time, taking your leadership abilities to a whole new level.

Communicate and gain influence

One of the most fundamental leadership qualities is effective communication, and the only requirement to train in this area is to have colleagues. The specific communication skills you need to work on will depend on your starting point, but generally, it is important to be clear, be a good listener, and ask relevant questions if you want to be a good leader.

If you are an extroverted person, it is crucial to recognize that extroversion alone does not guarantee good communication skills. Effective communication is not about constantly dominating conversations; it is quite the opposite. A good communicator should have the ability to encourage others to speak while also being able to express their own opinion confidently.

On the other hand, if you are an introverted person, you may need to work on being more outward-focused, expressing your opinions, and realizing that people cannot read your thoughts. However, it is important to note that being "introverted" does not equate to being "bad at communicating." Introverted individuals can have many strengths as communicators, such as active listening and thoughtful expression when they do speak.

To develop as an informal leader, you should also engage in internal networking and strive to gain a positive influence over your workplace and colleagues. There are several ways to become an influential person (and thus an informal leader) in the workplace. Firstly, do not underestimate the importance of working hard and being competent – it is a prerequisite for even being considered as a leader. If you have a high level of expertise in your field, you can also gain influence by developing your teaching ability, allowing you to transfer your knowledge to others. This is also an important leadership skill. Just ensure that you are flexible enough and recognize that your way of doing things may not be the only way that works. Otherwise, you may risk getting stuck in micromanagement, which is rarely appreciated in today's work environment.

Help others - set things in motion

If you want to become an informal leader and have a positive influence in the workplace, you must also have a genuine interest in ideas – both your own and others'. Successful organizations and businesses are ultimately built on good ideas. Ideas about what needs to be done, how, when, and why it should be done, how to think differently and develop what is already good to become even better. As a leader, whether formal or informal, you must be an idea generator and be prepared to advocate for both your own ideas and those of others.

Great leaders are passionate about helping others succeed but without neglecting themselves or allowing others to take advantage. A leader enjoys saying yes but is not afraid to politely and objectively say no. To demonstrate that your leadership qualities are genuine, you should also be willing to ask others for help. Do not perceive this as a weakness or a sign of dependence. Rather, it indicates a lack of self-awareness if you rarely or never seek assistance.

Last but not least, remember that one of the most important tasks of a leader is to initiate progress. You can achieve this through the qualities and behaviors mentioned above, as well as by taking carefully calculated risks. In order to move yourself and the group forward, you will almost always need to take some form of risk or step outside your comfort zone. Good leaders do not take reckless risks, but they do take risks that are well-considered and appear reasonable when weighed against the value they can achieve.

Anyone who interacts with other people can choose to become a leader. With the right training, everyone can improve their ability to lead, gain influence over others, and eventually become suitable for a more formal role as a manager or leader.