As an executive and leadership coach, I speak to people at all levels in organisations. While you can be a leader in your organisation in any role and at any level, it’s when people start to move up into management positions that they start to think about leadership. Many people I talk to in coaching sessions want to be a ‘better leader’.

One of the best ways to learn how to be a leader is to look at others, both in your organisation and outside of it. People in senior roles rarely act without intent. They consider how they communicate, how they present and how they act. If you want to learn how to lead people watch what established leaders do.

Watching leaders in your organisation also gives you clues about the culture and what type of leadership is rewarded. This doesn’t mean you have to follow this strictly but it can be useful if you want to be promoted or be offered different work.

“What about if all of the leaders around me are crap?” you ask.

That’s okay – you can still learn from them. A friend of mine that grew up in a dysfunctional family said he learnt a lot about marriage from his parents. When I expressed my surprise he said, “Yes I learned what NOT to do!” It’s the same with leadership. You can learn what not to do from those not so great leaders.

How can I learn from other established leaders?

When you are watching a more senior colleague or associate in the workplace consider the following:

• What style of communication are they using? What words do they choose? What impression or brand are they trying to present? For example are they being ‘one of boys’ or an ass-kicking manager or something else entirely? Are they authentic? Are their actions suitable?
• Is their leadership style working? It is getting the desired result? (And what is the desired result?)
• If their leadership is successful, can you emulate their actions and style? Would you need to modify it to be genuine and to make it work for you? How could you apply this in your role in the workplace?
• If they are not successful, what are they doing wrong? What would you do to make it better? How could you apply your improvements to your role in the workplace and develop your leadership skills?

The answers to these questions will guide you on how to behave like a leader (or not) in your organisation. As always its a good idea to experiment to develop your leadership in the workplace. Start small if you don’t feel confident. Try out leadership behaviours with colleagues or peers where there is not too much at stake.

Talking to a coach about leadership strategies can help you to learn how to lead more effectively. Contact me for more information about coaching.