While everyone aspires to take on a leadership position, not many evaluate the challenges it entails and are in for a not-so-pleasant surprise.

All of us like to believe that we deserve a promotion for the excellent performance rendered through the year. While some are lucky to get recognised, there are many who are not. Nevertheless, in this whole mad race to climb the success ladder, we often forget about the challenges the new position will bring. In other words, none of us really plan our promotions, and are in for a shock soon after stepping into the new role!

TALKING BUSINESS

Of course every position comes with its share of challenges, In todays scenario a position leap is very rare. So as you climb each step you learn the nuances of the job. Therefore,  there is a need to prepare oneself per se. Its a gradual growth and learning will happen once you are in the pool because until then you will never know how cold the water is.
While young professionals are confident of their abilities to take on new challenges, the reasons are bizarre as this confidence is not rooted in their abilities or domain knowledge. In other words, most young executives feel that they can or rather they must pull off a challenging leadership role effectively because they need to be in a better position in society and have a fancy pay package. Not many, however, seem to be aware of the importance of understanding the responsibilities that it entails as most young executives justify their stand.
As long as you are going to hold yourself back because of the fear of failure, you are not going to succeed. Believe in the go-get-it mantra, and have Success. Dont think much before taking up any responsibility because, the more you think, the more you get confused and consequently the fear factor increases, reducing productivity. Every failure is a learning process, so why fear

PICTURE PERFECT

While there is no denying the fact that confidence can take you a long way, the criterion for donning a leaders hat cannot be limited to just that as it requires much more. To begin with, answer this question: What does leadership mean to you? Most people are blinded by the fancy designation and remuneration. The usual presumption is that its a fancy position that entitles them to certain powers which in turn places them in a superior position than others. You get certain powers, but with that comes the responsibility of empowering team members and facilitating growth as an individual, a team and an organisation. Therefore, you need to strike the right balance. The question then is: are you ready for action Great leaders have had to grow to reach the stage they have. Its important to have a vision and a hard core plan to achieve it. This requires commitment, compromises and sacrifices; be prepared. No one becomes a great leader overnight. Building trust among team members and keeping them motivated is a continual process. In the bargain, you may have to sacrifice certain personal preferences.

GET SET

As stated earlier, while confidence can keep you going, before you take on the position of a leader its best to reflect on your abilities and understand your strengths and weaknesses. Set your priorities straight, and analyse your impediments. These could range from time constraints to domestic obligations. Evaluate yourself. It demands more work hours, more commitment, more domain knowledge, people management skills, time management skills, motivational skills, the ability to manage your personal life along with additional corporate responsibilities and the list just goes on! While its true that you will never know how cold the water is unless you get into it, it is important to know if the water is indeed cold oris it warm! warns Parekh as she winds up.

The following three strategies are simple, and they are also extremely powerful. However, they require consistent and skillful application in order for your personal strategic plan to become reality.

These are the exact same changes that an individual must make in order to create personal change, that a company must make in order to create a lasting competitive advantage, and that a community must make in order to best serve its citizens.

Step One—Raise Your Standards

Any time you sincerely want to make a change, the first thing you must do is to raise your standards.

Simply put, you MUST expect and demand more from yourself and from those around you. That means having zero tolerance for mediocrity, procrastination, and any behavior that robs you of potential and increased performance.

Step Two—Change Your Limiting Beliefs

If you raise your standards but don’t really believe you can meet them, then you’ve already sabotaged yourself. This is one of the biggest challenges people face when constructing their personal plan.

Why? Because you won’t even try; you’ll be lacking that sense of certainty that allows you to tap the deepest capacity that’s within you even as you read these words.

Our beliefs are like unquestioned commands; telling us how things are, what’s possible and what’s impossible, what we can and cannot do. They shape every action, every thought, and every feeling that we experience.

As a result, changing our belief system is central to making any real and lasting change in our lives.

Step Three—Change Your Strategy

In order to keep your commitment, you need the best strategies for achieving results. One of my core beliefs is that if you set a higher standard, and you can get yourself to believe, then you certainly can figure out the strategies. You simply will find a way.