Under “take notes,” I would add “identify some role models. One of them can be the leader you want to be. Ask, ‘How would the leader I want to be handle this?’”

And let me add my voice to Garrick’s above. Most companies today promote people based on their performance as something other than being a boss. If more of them listened to you and me, they’d make sure people had opportunities to try out leadership and demonstrate their abilities and they’d promote to boss work based on the potential to do a good job. There would also be promotions for technical experts, so being a boss wasn’t the only way up.

Thanks for the great article.

Excellent points on the steps to take to hone your leadership skills before actually stepping into the leadership role. Taking on informal leadership roles is the only way to know if you are comfortable in the leadership position. In addition, because leaders need to come up with creative solutions to problems (and creativity is best when practiced) experience in creative roles is valuable to becoming a good leader in the future. My personal belief is that when you are coming up with creative ideas, you are practicing the decision making process and setting a vision. These are the two most important parts of being a leader.

Finding a mentor is also valuable, especially in my situation of changing career paths. I had an array of options to take in the healthcare field, and my mentor helped guide my decision making by making me examine in what field of healtcare I would get the most enjoyment and fulfillment. That process crystallized my decision immediately.