- Find a mentor - great leaders are always keen to mentor others, so if you know one, ask for help
- Read - there is no shortage of books on leadership and related topics - ask for recommendations or try searching for “leadership” in Amazon and check the highly rated books
- Try it! - there is no way to learn leadership academically any more than it’s possible to learn to ride a bike academically
The final point is a vital one - trying things and seeing how they work out is the only way to develop. Once upon a time, I was paralysed by the fear of “making a mistake” and it was holding me back. Fortunately for me, I had a boss at the time who was determined to encourage me to innovate without beating myself up when things didn’t work out, and with that backing I learnt to concentrate on making progress without getting too upset when problems occurred. You will definitely make mistakes - it’s inevitable. The key is to take the outcome as feedback rather than criticism, use it and improve.
In fact, the only thing that can’t be learnt is a desire to take on leadership. If you have that, then the rest is far from easy, but well worth the effort involved. I encourage you to take initiative; try things; make mistakes; learn from them and keep developing. You will probably never “reach your goal” because this self development never ends, but the journey itself is rewarding in a way that I once never imagined I would appreciate.
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