LeadershipHQ Magazine June 2015 2nd Edition | Page 33

Young Leaders

Richard Branson summarised my current career opportunity into one simple sentence. At 26, I was very unsure that being
responsible for a large region and people was within my grasp or ability. But after reading that very quote, I thought best
to jump in headfirst and as they say, sink or swim.
Reflecting on being a young leader for the past 12 months and the difference between when I was a worker vs a manager,
there have only been some subtle changes. I always envisioned getting to this stage, albeit a lot later, but I made a
conscious decision to be perceived as a leader before I was one. This enabled me to learn some good skills that would help
prepare for a leadership role, whenever that would be.
But being a leader is hard. It means pushing yourself beyond your comfort levels, having a passion and drive and the ability
to take others on the journey with you. It’s about making mistakes, being an excellent communicator and being humble.
Being a young leader is even harder. The added pressure, or perceived pressure of age, backroom politics and jealousy
are often the cause of relentless frustration facing young leaders on a day to day basis. Having gone through these issues,
both in reality and in my head, hopefully four handy things I’ve learned in a short amount of time can be of benefit.

1. Emotional Intelligence
Knowing how to gauge your
emotions and the emotion of
others in certain situations is of
critical importance. Being able to
understand when to be direct, when
to show empathy or simply when to
do nothing but listen is a trait that
cannot be undervalued. You will
find that by altering your approach
to different situations will have a
greater impact both of the way you
are perceived when speaking, but
also when you say nothing. Throw
in some humility as part of this
process, and you are on your way to
a winning formula.
2. Understand your
strengths and weaknesses
This is easier for some than others.
The ability to critically analyse
one’s self is difficult but can be
learned over time. Knowing what
makes you tick, gives you drive, or
is severely holding you back are all
tools that will separate you from
the rest. Once you understand your
strengths and weaknesses, you
will really need to push yourself
beyond your normal comfort levels
to improve. I always felt I knew
my weaknesses pretty well, but
acknowledging my strengths was a
lot harder for me. Paying attention
to both and consistently working
on them will enable you to become
a well-rounded leader. For those
that struggle a bit more than others,
there are some great books that
have been written to help, such as
StrengthsFinder 2.0 for example.
33 | © LeadershipHQ 2015

3. Surround yourself with
good people
This is helpful at a number of
different levels. From a learning
perspective, having a number of
mentors or skilful people who
have done what you have before is
beneficial to your long term growth.
On the other hand, having good
people in your team means you can
not only learn a lot from them, but
their combined skills means your
team will perform like a well-oiled
machine. Being the best doesn’t
mean you have to know everything.
Employing knowledgeable people
in key areas means you can always
get the answer you want, and
makes your people involved with
the decision making process.
Finally, make sure you network with
likeminded people as often as you
can. You’ll be surprised how many
doors will open for you to expand
your horizons or ask questions to
experts in a field.
4. Stick to your guns
At the end of the day, you need to rely
on your good judgement to get you
through. Whilst you take the advice
of others into context when making
decisions, having the final say, right
or wrong, and learning from those
decisions, is important. Whilst you
are young, understand you are a
leader and to trust your instincts
as you have got this far with them.
Ignore the haters, back yourself and
maintain your enthusiasm.
Ryan Alexiou, QLD Safety Manager,
Hansen Yuncken Pty Ltd