Published: 5 November 2020
Whether you plan on becoming an entrepreneur, running a healthcare charity or rising to the top of the events industry, leadership is a skill you should have.
Some people come to leadership naturally, but for many of us, we need to spend time working at it.
Read on for five tips on developing your abilities as a leader.
1) Get disciplined
It’s an old saying, but the best way to lead is by example. Becoming professionally disciplined is necessary to become a good leader and vital for inspiring others as well. People naturally judge your leadership abilities by how consistent and disciplined you are.
Show off your discipline by always turning up to meetings on time, meeting deadlines and finishing promptly. If you struggle with discipline, start small. Try waking up early and exercising, then work your way up from there.
2) Take on more projects
Taking on extra responsibility is a great way to develop your leadership skills. Be careful not to overwhelm yourself but try doing more than the minimum that’s expected of you. The key to this is coming out of your comfort zone. Try signing up for a free course like the Business Enterprise Certificate or joining a student society.
3) Learn to follow
A good leader isn’t threatened when someone else wants to take charge. You should welcome opposing views and opinions and encourage people to question you. Keep an open mind and acknowledge when someone else has a good idea. In group projects for example, make sure every voice is heard and let others take over if it will help the work overall.
4) Situational awareness
What makes a good leader stand out is the ability to see the bigger picture. A manager is there to think about each part of the team. The individual work is done by the other members of that team. Without the manager, nothing would ever come together.
You can practice this skill on your own by thinking through your assignments ahead of time. Plan and structure everything you do to always see the bigger picture.
5) Keep learning
University is not the end of your learning experience. Education is a life-long activity, whether you’re in a formal setting or not. As a leader, you should always try to learn new things and develop your skills. Try our Digital Media Marketing or Project Management Short courses to add skills to your CV.
In the end, what makes a good leader is their ability to inspire others to do their best. University is the perfect time to learn things like leadership and being able to talk about them will make your job applications stand out.
You can find more jobs skills on the Digital Literacy Skills section of the Library website.
For more information, visit our Careers and Employability page. You can read about employability skills on our news pages. Find out more by following #WeAreSunLon on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.