As a child you are constantly asked what you want to be when you grow up. Of course, for many of us, this answer changes hundreds of times until you eventually land in a position you never even imagined.
From my earliest recollection, my answer was that I wanted to be an artist or a race car driver. My career started out on the artsier side as an interior designer, but that quickly became boring. When my husband makes fun of my ‘bad driving’ I tell him I always wanted to be a race car driver. So, while I may not be a professional artist or driver, I guess the young me is still in there (or at least that’s what I tell myself).
But most kids’ responses of wanting to become an astronaut (my three-year-old daughter’s current response—so she can touch the moon), or the president, rarely come to life due to limited opportunities. Perhaps these kids will do something similarly exciting, though—the astronaut dreamers could be our future scientists, and the kids that wish to be the president could very well be our future leaders.
In this blog, I’d like to focus on the journey of becoming a leader, which of course doesn’t happen overnight. To become a leader, you have to work hard, earn certification after certification, and put in countless hours of work. One of the most important factors in becoming a successful leader, however, is learning from our mentors, the current leaders. In addition to our hard work, it is their responsibility and goal to guide our future leaders and help them be successful.
Leaders aren’t just in their position to do a job or perform for a client, but to pave the way for future success. As such, it is important that current leaders provide three things to our future leaders: guidance, a plan, and the appropriate tools.
Guidance
…and mentorship. Everyone should strive to have a mentor; someone you look up to and are inspired by. We should treat our mentors like an encyclopedia we read until we’ve worn out the pages and we have gained all the knowledge we can. When I was first transitioning into a leadership role, I remember talking with my mentor numerous times a day, sometimes just watching how he did things and gaining knowledge. In addition to shadowing him, I was also provided with extensive training and insights from many other peers. While I also utilized my own skills and worked hard every day, the lessons I learned from my mentors were irreplaceable and incredibly important to my success.
Perfectly said by American actor and filmmaker Denzel Washington, “Show me a successful individual, and I’ll show you someone who had real positive influences in his or her life. I don’t care what you do for a living—if you do it well, I’m sure there was someone cheering you on or showing the way. A mentor.”
Plan
Our current leaders have some insight on who the future leaders are going to be and preparing them to be successful is imperative. If we don’t save money for retirement, there is no retirement. Similarly, if leaders don’t plan for the future of their company, there won’t be a company when they are gone. Creating a plan, identifying the right people, and preparing those people to lead is imperative to the life of a company.
Tools
We must also ensure that future leaders have the ‘keys to the kingdom’ and set them up for success. Every future leader will need a different set of tools to be successful, which is something a mentor can help them figure out. Personally, the most important tool I received from my mentor was trust. He trusted me to be a leader, even when I was unsure of myself. Of course, I received proper training and guidance, too, but without the trust of my mentor and him letting me figure many things out on my own, I wouldn’t be where I am today. It is important to remember that every leader is different and will have different managing styles, so a little creativity is necessary.
So, who are our future leaders, and what does it take to be a leader? Anyone can be a leader, but those who can influence those around them to maintain a successful organization and inspire people to perform above and beyond are great leaders.
I feel so lucky to have great leaders here at Arcadis paving the way for the future and adapting to all the changes in the world while maintaining growth. As I continue my journey as a leader, I like to remember the advice of those who have been doing this much longer than I have. As American business consultant Peter Drucker said, “Leadership is the lifting of a person's vision to higher sights, the raising of a person's performance to a higher standard, the building of a personality beyond its normal limitations.”
We should all ask ourselves, what do we want to be when we grow up? Are you a future leader?
