Tips on How You Can Build Leadership Skills

You do not need to supervise or be a manager to cultivate leadership skills. You can develop these skills on the job in the following ways: 

Take initiative: 

Look beyond the tasks in your job description. Think long-term about what would be beneficial for your department and the company. Try to brainstorm ideas and commit to doing work that goes beyond the daily routine. 

Request more responsibility: 

While you wouldn’t want to ask for additional responsibility in your second week on the job, once you’ve been in a position long enough to become an expert, you can share with your manager that you’re eager to grow your leadership abilities. Ask how you can help out—are there upcoming projects that require a point person? Is there any work that you can take off of your manager’s to-do list? 

Target specific skills: 

If you have a specific skill that you want to develop—whether it’s creative thinking or communication—create a plan to improve your abilities in this area. This could mean taking a class, finding a mentor to help, reading books, or setting a small goal that forces you to develop this skill. Talk to managers and co-workers, as well as friends outside of the office, to help develop your plan to improve.

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Culled from: The Balance Career.