Attracting Opportunities to Learn Leadership Skills
Pursuing a career in leadership can often feel as though you’re trapped in a cycle. Organizations are understandably reluctant to hire leaders without the requisite skills and experience to drive projects and teams. Yet, it’s difficult to gain those elements if you aren’t able to secure opportunities to work in leadership roles.
You might think your educational achievements, like a master of business administration (MBA) degree, might help you attract employment or internships. But the fact is this may not be enough. After all, there is so much more you need to know to succeed in business. Not to mention you are by no means alone in having pursued this traditional learning path. As frustrating as the situation may be, often your key to seizing practical training and mentorship in leadership comes down to the steps you take above and beyond the basics.
Let’s review some of the key tactics you need to implement when you’re vying to attract those all-important opportunities to learn leadership skills.
Improve Your Online Presence
An active online presence is a must-have for all entrepreneurs and businesses. This extends to you as a potential leader of an organization. Indeed, if companies that can provide learning opportunities can’t see you have a distinct professional online presence, it gives the impression you don’t have skills relevant to the digital marketplace. As such, this is an area you need to work on.
One of the most important places to focus here is on your social media platforms. You need to show organizations through your interactions that you’re a potential leader worth investing their time and knowledge in. Curate your usage to both display your unique personality and your relationship to your target industry or profession. Get involved in interesting discussions with industry leaders and peers. Post news and even personally create content around entrepreneurship and leadership and give your informed opinions on the matters.
You also need to make sure you optimize your professional profiles. Adjust your headline and summary to include keywords your target companies and contacts are likely to be searching for. Take time to regularly publish posts on your subjects of interest and get involved with professional groups. In essence, your first duty is to get seen by the people who can offer you learning opportunities and spark their interest in you.
Be Prepared at All Times
When it comes to gaining leadership learning opportunities, it’s important to recognize that being at the right place at the right time can play a role. This certainly isn’t the be-all and end-all of the situation, though. In many ways, luck is meaningless if you’re not prepared to take advantage of the situation when glimpses of potential opportunities drift your way.
You should start by making certain you have some form of elevator pitch about yourself. When you stumble across a potential mentor or employer at an event you don’t want to find yourself mincing your words. It doesn’t have to be anything as cheesy (or arrogant) as pitching how you could bring success to their business. Rather, develop points about your leadership interests and ambitions that you can use to direct the discussion toward asking about opportunities.
When making these connections, it’s not always a good idea to hand them your resume (if they want it, you can email it to them). However, having a business card can be a good way to show you’d like to continue the conversation. Make sure your business card is formatted to professional specifications and that any images you use are of high definition. It doesn’t have to have a huge amount of information — in fact, you should prioritize clarity over content here. Make sure it shows who you are, your contact details, and perhaps a link to your socials or website.
Make Genuine Connections
Finding places to network effectively is essential if you want to discover leadership learning opportunities. You aren’t always going to connect to the mentor you need or a relevant recruiter through your immediate outreach. Often, the best experiences come from a colleague or a connection you met at an event. However, you won’t be alone in trying to network for this reason, so you need to make the best impression.
Your best approach in this regard is to prioritize building genuine relationships. One of the consistent traits of highly connected professionals is they exhibit a genuine interest in others. Even if you are attending a function designed explicitly for networking, your priority should be to actively engage with people beyond their ability to further your business education. Find out what interests them and even how you might be able to help them. Take a long-term approach.
This should extend even to your online interactions. LinkedIn can be a strategic approach to connecting with peers and other professionals, but making the most of it requires meaningful behavior. While you should always be professional you should present personal touches aligned with your personality. You should always be consistent in your interactions to show you’re as committed to building relationships as your connections are.
Conclusion
Leadership skills are among the most sought-after traits in the current commercial landscape. But finding opportunities to learn these can be challenging. Your success can come down to honing your online presence to draw attention to your unique perspectives and insights. It’s also important that you are prepared to pitch for mentorships and employment at all times, including having business cards and discussion points. Remember, while networking is vital, you’re more likely to get the most out of the experience by forging genuine, mutually beneficial relationships. There’s a lot of competition out there, but with some persistence, you can find your path.