Is leadership for you?

Have you ever asked yourself this question at any point in your career development and leadership journey?

In the latest episode of How To Take The Lead we ask the question, is leadership for you? As well as sharing some of our own leadership experiences and the reasons why we have chosen leadership roles as part of our career growth, we question what really drives you as a leader.

If you are a regular listener, you won’t be surprised to hear us talk about clarity of purpose. Without knowing what impact you want to have, how can you determine if leadership is for you.

But we also recognise that while it might be the dream for everyone in leadership positions to be truly altruistic, and there for the greater good, there has to be something in it for you. Whether that is about status or reward and recompense, we explore why you might want to position yourself as a leader even if you are not part of the established hierarchy in your organisation.

This part of the conversation really got me thinking after we recorded the episode about ambition and if ambition is perceived as a bit of a dirty word when it comes to considering your career development. I am an ambitious person in terms of what I would like to achieve in my life and that’s professionally, for my team and organisation, in my business and in my personal life. I have goals that I want to reach and I’m not ashamed of that but have I ever described myself as an ambitious leader?

As well as considering my ambitions as a leader (and if you’re interested I have described myself to others as quietly ambitious before), this conversation really helped me to think about why I put myself out there and seek out leadership positions in my career. So asking yourself the question ‘is leadership for you?’ isn’t just a useful prompt for new, aspiring leaders, it’s an opportunity to check throughout your leadership journey.

In this week’s bonus for paid subscribers you’ll get some prompts to support your thinking and reflections on whether leadership is for you.

Until next time,
Carrie-Ann