Lead from Where You Sit: Activating Agency in Your Career

Wake Forest School of Professional Studies has partnered with Career Maven Tiffany Tate to offer SPS students relevant career resources. As founder of Career Maven Consulting, Tiffany works with clients to demystify the job search process and cultivate leadership skills at work, while also partnering with organizations to reimagine the future of work.

Learn more about Tiffany and the Career Maven Consulting team.

For many professionals, believing the myth that leadership is something you wait for until the right position comes along can delay access to learning, career growth, and seizing opportunity.  

The idea that you must be in a specific role or level of formal leadership within a company’s org chart negates the fact that leadership is a mindset anyone can develop and activate at every stage of their career.  Leadership responsibilities do not require a certain position, but rather all positions require leadership abilities and mindset. Even when you assume the top ranks of a team or organization, shifting your thinking beyond individual work to how what you do impacts the overall culture of a team and organization is key to exercising the leadership muscle.

As a working professional, you may be wondering, “What are some ways I can advance my career, activate leadership development, and lead from where I sit?”  

Below are a few key considerations as you move ahead in your daily work practice.

Exercise Unwavering Integrity

Sometimes, leadership requires a bit of bravery in the face of tough situations. Whether that’s holding people accountable with difficult and direct dialogue or owning up to your own mistakes in your work, doubling down on integrity is always the right choice. 

Transparency and authenticity are deeply powerful tools to exhibit one’s character and often serve as guides when difficult decisions present themselves. You may not always have a blueprint for what to do next, but tapping into your moral compass and considering the implications of your next steps on the work and people around you is always a good thing.

Identify Strategic Solutions, Not Just Pesky Problems 

Problem solving with the business in mind is an asset to your manager or team. Identifying ways to solve gaps in processes or systems  not only patch the problems in front of you, but impact long term gains  are examples of thinking strategically and generating solutions.  Complaining about what’s going wrong or working without presenting potential solutions is a liability when it comes to team performance and tends to negatively impact team culture over time.  

No matter your position or title, you have the opportunity to survey the landscape around you and observe what’s working and what’s not. Often, the problems or opportunities you notice are complex and you’ll start to see places to increase efficiency, elevate client experience, or break down silos that prevent cross-functional teams from doing their best work collaboratively.  In every industry, there are always opportunity gaps to be had.  A leadership mindset says “what can make this place, project, or team better?” rather than “what can make my life more convenient?”

Mind Your Manners

I was raised to treat the janitorial staff the same as the CEO – as all humans are worthy of respect and kindness, simply because they are human beings. This orientation to the world is  helpful in building relationships with people, learning about their life and what motivates them, and having what would otherwise be difficult conversations because respect never leaves the room. 

I make it a point to be consistent, firm, and kind.  It’s possible to disagree with someone’s idea or approach to work, but still communicate  without disregarding another person’s humanity.  Simply put, minding your manners allows you to accomplish one-on-one meetings or auditorium-sized chats with the same energy – by having respect for yourself and everyone around you, too.

Cultivate Strategic Partnerships 

You know that saying about how no one is an island on their own?  The same applies at work. Even if you are not in a people facing role, you’re most likely not on an island alone.  Activating strategic partnerships and alliances with the people you work with is often key to generating new ideas, understanding the way others operate, and what resources or strategies you haven’t uncovered yet that someone else may have insight on. 

Cultivating partnerships on your team (and outside) allows you to work collaboratively and more efficiently, and it allows you to identify allies and supporters for your work and long-term growth potential.  Looking up from your computer from time to time to have a conversation, ask good questions, or offer a helping hand to someone in need on a project or stumped with an obstacle can go a long way toward identifying opportunities for strategic partnerships at work.

Do What You Do Well – Then Ask for More

Leadership mindset is about more than about what you do.  It’s also about how others see you, and your capacity to take on more work, stretch projects, or stretch roles / promotions. Your ability to consistently show up, think critically, and work well with others are all factors in laying a foundation of being perceived as a leader at work.  A leader at work is someone that people can trust to follow-through on tasks, solicit feedback, and apply it. These are all the markers of someone who can – and should – grow and apply their talent in new and exciting ways within an organization. 

Along this vein, doing the job that you were hired to do well is your first priority. If that’s in the bag, finding ways to raise your hand and either ask for more meaningful work, time with senior leadership, or opportunities to work across teams will allow you to continue to sharpen and hone your professional acumen and experience.

It also allows you to be seen for what you are – a leader. Doing what you do well is critical, but– taking on new opportunities and balancing both is an important next step to ratchet up your leadership ability and reputation.

I challenge you to re-frame your ability to assume and activate leadership traits in your unique personal and professional space. Consider today how you might lean into the mindset of leadership, right where you are.  Consider how you might stretch your leadership muscle, and activate new strategies to lead from where you sit in future for continued career success.

Wake Forest SPS students can access Tiffany’s webinar “Lead From Where You Sit” in the Pearl Cafe here.