Why do people aspire to be leaders

This shows the interviewer that you are likely to have a positive attitude in this role. Examples that show you are an effective problem-solver may increase your chances of employment since other employees are likely to ask you to troubleshoot problems in this role. Show the interviewer that you would be a good fit for this role by explaining why you are an effective leader. Tell them which leadership skills you possess.

For example, you could tell them you are skilled at multitasking, collaborating with others and communicating your ideas. Prepare your answer to "Why do you want to be a leader? Leaders need to be ready for anything, so this question shows employers if you have this capability. Here are some example answers that you can use as inspiration:. In my last role as a senior copywriter, I got to create some great connections with my team.

I helped the junior copywriter learn how to write for SEO and how to be more confident about her writing talent. By knowing that I was helping someone else's career, I could go home every day feeling good. As a creative director, I would use my previous leadership experiences to guide me in this new role. I would continue to support my team and help them grow to their full potential. While I was a customer service assistant, I noticed many things that management could have done better.

For example, when it came to scheduling, management often failed to get us our schedules at a reasonable time. As a manager, I would make it my priority to stay organized and plan ahead, so the employees can feel happy about their schedules and have time to plan ahead for their shifts.

One way to do this is by establishing close connections with students, and honestly, this is why I want to continue to be a leader in this new role. I enjoy guiding students through their career journey and being someone they can go to for support and advice. I think it's important that students see me as a leader, so they respect me as a counselor and know they can trust what I tell them. So where should you start? What are the key competencies you need, and what life skills are you missing?

At the end of the day, if you do want to become a manager, the journey to becoming a good manager starts with becoming a great leader. So, what career milestones should eager and ambitious team members set their eyes on to demonstrate that they are becoming a leader?

Shawn loves writing software, but they're noticing a few peers transitioning to a Tech Lead or Engineering Manager role. Should they too? Shawn is unsure about what would change, or even if they'd be good at it. You might be considering stepping onto the leadership path, but like Shawn you may be unsure about whether you should or not. In this article, we'll explore some good reasons to step into a leadership role and a few not-so-good ones.

Those who seek a leadership role for the right reasons will have greater success. They'll see new and challenging tasks as an opportunity to learn, rather than a chore that needs doing. They'll invest more effort in doing an outstanding job rather than coasting on the bare minimum, and they'll be curious to constantly improve rather than pretend they are a master of every leadership skill.

As an individual contributor you have a limited impact. There is only so much time you have and only so much you can do in that time.

Your skills and strengths constrain what you are able to do with that time, and you will be better at some activities than others.

As a leader, you have a broader impact because you have more than you: you also have your team, and a high-performing team achieves much more than a single individual can. If you seek a leadership role to have more impact, you'll focus less on what you do as an individual. You recognise it's more about what the team can do and how the team works together that matters, and with this attitude you will build high performing teams and lead effectively.

Leaders draw upon very different skills than individual contributors. The skills you built as a developer will help you write clean, concise, and well-tested code but these skills won't help you navigate difficult conversations.

Nor will they prepare you to give effective feedback or influence other stakeholders. When you recognise you need to invest in different skills, you'll grow much faster as a leader and you'll even enjoy it because it will be an opportunity to develop in different ways.

You'll have the opportunity to learn and practice leadership skills such as active listening, coaching, mentoring, and influencing. As you focus on developing these skills, you'll feel like you grow much more as a person and into a more capable leader. Some leaders I know started out because they wanted to positively influence others.

They saw that when team members grow, their team's impact also grows. They also realised with the support of a great leader people can grow much faster. When you have an interest in watching others grow, you'll find optimal ways to make it happen and stretch opportunities for team members.

These opportunities give team members a chance to try something new but with a safety net. If the team member succeeds they grow and the team benefits from the outcome and their experience, but if a team member fails with this safety net in place, they have a chance to learn and try again.

Leaders who invest in their team members' growth will long be remembered by not only those who benefitted from the team's outputs, but also by the team members who grew. Some people seek a leadership role because they have ideas to improve the work environment and that's a great leadership habit to have. As Grace Hopper once said, "You manage things and lead people.

Team members are so focused on work, they often don't have time to improve the environment. Imagine a team who waits for three or four signatures from external stakeholders to approve work items.

Now imagine a leader who agreed with these stakeholders on a streamlined process involving only one person, resulting in the team being able to achieve much more. Work environments can either empower or constrain how teams work. Leaders who want to improve the environment don't wait for their team to complain but rather proactively search for improvements. These improvements translate into better team morale, better outcomes and a much more effective team.

Ever hear the saying, "Do as I say, not as I do"? Here's a common example: a leader asks their team to join meetings on time, but they themselves are often late. We call this incongruent behaviour and it demonstrates ineffective leadership. Effective leaders know that what they say and what they do matters. Congruent behaviour sends a consistent message to the team about what is important. If you want to be a role model, focus on congruent behaviour and you'll do a much better job than those who don't.

As the other old saying goes, "Actions speak louder than words. When someone seeks a leadership role for the following reasons, they are setting themselves and their team up for failure.

At best they will become a mediocre leader, and a mediocre leader produces a mediocre team. Some people see leadership roles as the only way to make more money. The logic appears sound.