Here's how you can develop the essential attributes and qualities for future leadership roles.

Developing essential attributes and qualities for future leadership roles involves continuous learning, self-awareness, and intentional practice. Start by seeking feedback from mentors and peers to understand your strengths and areas for growth. Invest in developing emotional intelligence, as it is crucial for effective communication and relationship building. Embrace challenges as opportunities to learn and grow, and stay curious and adaptable in a rapidly changing environment. Remember, great leaders are lifelong learners who prioritize personal development and inspire others through their actions and vision. You can do this!

Person who demonstrates leadership is the one who brings up a new idea or a larger vision and gets others to support it so that the journey starts. Note that you don't need a formal organizational "leadership position" to do this. However, often the initial idea or vision can be just a draft which needs refinement. Smart leaders then engage others and invite them to refine and even reshape the vision together. This will create buy-in in the core team driving the change. It's no longer "John's idea" but it's "our vision". Great leaders are excellent facilitators and coaches who make it easy for teams to formulate visions and even complex strategies collaboratively and efficiently by smart usage of various tools and techniques.

Ability to create and enjoy a world through your eyes for many more people is one of the most rewarding experiences that you can get as a leader. This requires the leader having an ability to dream of a future that's better for all and be able to articulate such vision with utmost passion, commitment and confidence. May be this is the reason why it's called shared vision. Vision should have something for everyone to be inspired and willing to bring their best self with the same level of commitment that the leader believes in the vision.

Imagine a leader who navigates team dynamics, the good, the bad and the ugly, with a steady hand and a compassionate heart. That's the power of emotional intelligence, or EQ. It's the secret sauce that lets you read the room, sense tension or low motivation. With self-awareness, you regulate your own emotions, staying grounded in conflict. But EQ isn't just about keeping your cool. It's about connecting with others, listening with empathy, creating a space where everyone feels heard and valued. So, if you aspire to lead, don't just hone your business skills. Dive into the messy, beautiful world of emotions. Master your EQ, and you'll have the tools to build a team that weathers any storm.

In my experience, developing strong decision-making skills is vital for future leadership roles. Start by gathering and analyzing all relevant information, considering both data and qualitative insights. Engage in scenario planning to practice making decisions and understand their impact on stakeholders. Assess risks and develop mitigation strategies to balance potential downsides with benefits. Cultivate decisiveness and confidence, even under pressure, while being prepared to take responsibility for outcomes. Communicate decisions clearly and seek feedback to refine your approach. This holistic process not only ensures effective decisions but also enhances overall leadership effectiveness.

Effectiveness of leadership journey can be measured by the cumulative effect of the quality of decisions made as a leader. Knowing that your actions impact a lot of lives that you may not be even aware of creates a level of responsibility that only an authentic leader can understand. While businesses are driven largely by maximization of profits, it's important to understand that for a sustainable long-term business success profit is not the only objective. Hence, understanding information holistically at the time of making decisions becomes ever so critical in a dynamic world.

Ability to influence other people largely defines your effectiveness as a leader. John C. Maxwell has even stated: "Leadership is influence, nothing more, nothing less". Mastering the art of rhetoric is the key. To influence people, there are three key areas: 1. Logos (logical arguments) 2. Pathos (emotional arguments) 3. Ethos (your credibility, authority & way you act and deliver your message) Leaders need to convey an inspiring vision of the future and answer the key questions starting with WHY. They can tell stories and show visuals that stick in people's minds. They help everyone to see "What's in it for me?" and "What's in it for us?". They understand the universal principles of persuasion (6) and pre-suasion.

Influência e inspiração são essenciais para liderar de forma eficaz porque permite alinhar a equipe com a visão do líder. Envolve compreender motivações individuais e comunicar-se de forma consistente com valores e crenças do grupo Construção de relacionamento: Um líder ético influente promove confiança e respeito e incentiva um ambiente de trabalho colaborativo Autonomia e Motivação: Compreender a motivação individual e estimular o engajamento da equipe e o aumento da produtividade Alinhamento da visão: A influência ajuda a criar uma visão compartilhada e direciona os esforços colaborativos para um objetivo comum Tomada de decisões: Facilita a aceitação de novas ideias e incentiva a inovação e a flexibilidade

Steve Jobs once said: "Some mistakes will be made along the way. That's good. Because some decisions are being made along the way. We'll find the mistakes. We'll fix them." You need to have courage to make decisions and to do new things. If a problem occurs, it's good to pause for a moment at a suitable time and reflect both individually and as a team: 1. What happened? (no finger pointing!) 2. What did we learn? 3. What would have been a better way to do it? 4. What principles, rules and ways of working should we adopt going forward? It's also good to remember Dr. Deming's statement that 94 % of problems are caused by the system (the way we operate) rather than individuals. Improve the system to get better outcomes.

Continuous learning is not only relevant for leaders, it's an imperative for everyone. If you aspire to lead others, it's not just about your growth and success but your entire ecosystem depends on your learning agility. Often leaders lose credibility when they stop to learn or listen actively. In the age of AI and connected devices, if you don't continue to enhance your learning it's easy for algorithms to own you!

Leaders are people who have inspiring ideas about the future and how to get there (vision). They can communicate such visions in an engaging and inspiring way. Leaders help to change the way we operate. Leaders come up with ideas about new products and services. This requires continuous learning. Every day. From many people. It requires curiosity, lateral thinking, openness to different points of view, ability to ask great questions and the ability to consume content very rapidly. Seek out the best minds and influencers on the planet and actively follow the ideas and visions they share. Reflect with your colleagues & customers. Attend events. Dream. Develop a daily routine to scan and digest the content (e.g. using a feed reader).

Engage in self-reflection to understand your strengths, weaknesses, and areas for improvement. Journaling or seeking feedback can aid this process. Regularly ask for feedback from peers, mentors, and team members to gain different perspectives on your performance and behaviour. Offer help and support to your colleagues; encouraging others builds your leadership credibility and fosters a collaborative environment. Look for ways to take on leadership roles in small projects, volunteer organisations, or community groups. These experiences provide valuable leadership practice.

We must understand that corporate ladder works as an a funnel, becoming each time more difficult to reach the next level. Focusing on your strenghts and developing your leadership brand are two critical steps to get career positive results. Being unique, and delivering more value is necessary to be perceived and recognized as a talent.

Inversion is a powerful technique if you want to become better at anything. 1. Define the role you would like to excel at (e.g. CEO at company XYZ) 2. Make a list of all the ways could do to absolutely FAIL at that job (yes, really). In other words, what would you do or not do to completely fail? 3. Invert each list item 4. Make a plan how to get better regarding each positive goal 5. Prioritize & take action For example: "Never prepare for any board meetings" -> a) Have a continuous dialogue with the Chair of BoD to agree on the hot topics, agenda and decisions to be made. b) Prepare & distribute all reports, plans and materials well in advance with your leadership team. c) Anticipate possible questions and prepare answers for those