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How to Improve Your Business Leadership and Advance Your Career

You don’t have to be a manager or director to be a leader. In fact, it’s possessing excellent leadership skills that allow people to reach those positions in the first place. Leadership is also far more than just knowing how to delegate responsibilities and make important decisions; true leadership is utilizing your own confidence, talents and strengths to help others better appreciate and apply their own. To help you further your career now and in the future, you can cultivate some leadership skills that transform the way you work.

Understand What Leadership Means in Your Industry

Leadership may have a core role in every sector, but it also presents unique opportunities depending on the discipline. A leader in law enforcement, for example, has vastly different roles than a leader in business or healthcare administration. Part of being a good leader is knowing how to identify unique challenges and needs in your industry. When you identify areas that could be improved, think of various possible solutions. Instead of taking on the responsibility entirely, consider how collaboration could bring about even greater results. Good leaders recognize the importance of teamwork, and they always strive to include others.

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Develop Your Own Mission Statement

Without your own mission statement, you might find yourself solely emulating other people who you admire. Inspiration is wonderful, but it can only get you so far. As an aspiring leader, you need to have your own code of ethics and guiding principles. What inspires you to take action? How do you go about it? What values do you uphold at all times? Writing a personal mission statement allows you to frame your actions in the most empowering way. With this statement, you recognize what matters most to you and always have a reminder of what you’re really striving toward. Think about what success really means to you and establish a standard in your statement that you will always strive to uphold. This gives you a sturdy foundation to act from regardless of the situation or challenges at hand.

Expand Your Credentials

Advanced degrees give students the opportunity to become masters in their fields. The more you know about your industry, the greater capacity you have to lead and guide others. A master’s degree in leadership and management will equip any professional to become a strong source of guidance, wisdom and strength in their careers. Leadership degrees draw from a variety of subjects such as industrial psychology, project management and communications to give students a well-rounded knowledge. Graduates know all of the necessary components for successful operations, and they are able to help others while furthering their own careers.

Bringing value to your company now can also happen through earning a master’s in leadership. Certificate programs, additional skills in cross-over fields and training are also valuable. You can borrow private student loans to pay for college while you continue to work in your current company. Bringing developing skills to the table allows you to continually evolve your work style and become more efficient and capable.

Embrace New Voices

Leaders are able to listen to new and possibly controversial ideas with openness and respect. They critically analyze information that’s presented to them without allowing emotional biases to impact their judgement. You should actively seek out different opinions about things that matter to you both professionally and personally. Exposure to new ideas and ways of thinking allow you to become more empathetic and creative at solving problems. You also gain a deeper appreciation for others, as the saying goes, it’s lonely at the top. A person who thinks that only their ideas are the best miss out on the chance to learn and grow.

Challenge Your Own Ideas

Do you hold limiting beliefs that could be affecting your success? You have to be willing to humble yourself and admit when you’re being presumptuous. Effective leaders are agile, always willing to take in new information and not afraid of change. They know that the norm today might not be the standard tomorrow, and they eagerly look forward to adopting new concepts into their lives. Think about how your own thinking may have hindered you at some points in your life. Rather than dwelling on it, recognize that you’ve grown and are now able to think differently. We can learn from our mistakes as long as we see the value in them.

Become More Resourceful

Recognize what people around you have to offer, and ask them for their time and opinions. Many times, professionals feel as though they have to do everything on their own. It’s exhausting pretending to have all the answers all the time. No one knows everything, and that is the beauty of working with a team. Being a part of an organization that introduces you to so many different skillsets and perspectives is a blessing. Take advantage of this opportunity to grow from your interactions.


Drew Allen

Drew is a financial enthusiast, seasoned blogger, music and sports fanatic. He enjoys spending time outdoors with his wife and daughter fishing and boating. He is dedicated to his 20+ year career in the banking, mortgage, and personal finance industry.