Posts with the ‘Leading in Your Twenties’ tag
“But, I’m not a leader.” When someone makes that statement, I always add “YET!” There is a problem with that statement. The person making that statement assumes leadership is about a title. If you have said or thought this, it is time to stop and reassess your beliefs.
Reliable, Initiative, Proactive, Accountable, Low Maintenance, Easy to work with, a “Go to” person, a Leader. These are the words and phrases people will use to describe you if you make it a habit to exercise Duty. This is a teammate everyone wants. This is a friend everyone wants. This is your company’s next generation of […]
On our best days, most people will look in the mirror and realize they did something selfish that day. Selfishness is part of our human nature. Beyond that, selfishness becomes more and more ingrained in our character as the years go on. Why? Because practice makes perfect!
The generation of leaders emerging now needs to be different. If you are in your twenties and are dissatisfied with the status quo, you can not inspire change unless you exercise Integrity. People will not follow you if you exercise situational Integrity. Unfortunately, situational Integrity is too prevelant among our leaders today.
We all want to follow leaders who exercise Humility. Yet when you see leadership failures, so many of those failures are the result of a leader’s pride. The leader won’t listen to another person’s opinion. The leader refuses to admit they might be wrong. Or the leader is more interested in how they look to […]
When have you chickened out? We have all failed to exercise Courage at times of testing. Maybe you didn’t speak up. Maybe you told someone what they wanted to hear instead of what they needed to hear. Maybe you did nothing because you didn’t want to deal with the potential negative consequences.
“Leaders must have Integrity.” “A leader’s Character is vitally important.” “Be a servant leader.” Many books or training seminars will stress the importance of Character or some aspect of Character. Few people argue with the idea that Character is important in leadership. The problem is, nobody seems to talk about how to actually build your […]
Twenty somethings, you’ve been given bad advice. “Get a marketable degree and good grades from a big university. Get advanced degrees and have a lot of letters following your name. Get certified in something and publish papers.” When you are in your twenties, people tell you these things. That bad advice is well intentioned. But […]
If you are in your twenties, I have news for you. You did not get what you needed in high school and college if you are planning to be a leader. On top of that, most companies will not invest in developing you as a leader until you are already in a leadership position. What’s […]
“How do I get promoted to leadership?” seemed to be the top question people in their twenties asked me during my years leading in the corporate world. My reply was always, “Start leading now!” The fact is, too many talented people in their twenties wait for someone to tell them to lead.
