How to Recognize Your Leadership Journey

We all go through a leadership journey, even if we don’t realize it’s happening.

Looking back, I can clearly see the milestones along my path. Of course, they weren’t always clear in the moment. So, come along with me on my leadership journey and learn a few tips you can start applying to yours.

Starting My Career

I never thought I would be the president of a company when I started my career. I went into marketing and I fell into direct marketing, where the logic really spoke to me. As I progressed through my journey, I worked with some great leaders that I wanted to emulate.

I loved how they gave themselves to their work. I respected how people listened to them. I quietly observed and soaked in their lessons. Today, they don’t even know how influential they were to me.

The Moment of Clarity

In one of my first roles, I was a marketing analyst. I remember sitting in a meeting, watching my manager speak about the forecast and sharing numbers about where the organization was going. Most of the company’s executives were in the meeting, listening intently to this woman. I thought to myself, “I want to do that. I want to be in that position where I have something to say and people want to hear it.”

In less than a year, I was in that position. I didn’t even know, back then, that those seeds were shaping my career.

Pay attention to what makes you a little jealous. When you wish you could do something or when you’re drawn to somebody, take note. That could be a clue for your next step. 

How do you get to the point where you can see those milestones as they’re occurring? Or how do you influence them? Many women feel like their careers aren’t moving fast enough. On the other end of the spectrum, they may feel like they are not ready, and things are happening too quickly. 

If you’re just starting your leadership journey, or if you’re stuck in a leadership journey, imagine what comes next. Throughout my journey, I recognized where I wanted to be and subconsciously started working my way towards that position.  

Leaps will happen: You will change companies or careers. Yet always picturing yourself in that next spot is incredibly influential. I didn’t understand that until I was giving a speech to some young leaders. I told them to know their next spot. At the end of the speech, they asked me what my next step was.

I couldn’t answer. I recently moved into my president’s role and hadn’t yet envisioned my next move.

I think back to this moment quite often, because it took two or three years until I began to see what was next. It’s not that I didn’t love my job. It was simply the evolution of the career. As a continuous learner, I always want to take on the next challenge. I can’t sit back and say I’m good, because I’m not. I still continue to evolve today.

So how do you take control of your leadership journey? 

First, recognize people who you want to emulate. Pay attention to what works for them and learn from them. And next, see your next spot. Even if you don’t know exactly what it will look like, be observant when it starts taking shape.

These are just two tricks I’ve learned in shaping my leadership journey...so far.