Leadership Starts Before the Title

Welcome to Lead Anyway. The team and title will follow.

This is a private podcast series for the ambitious professional who knows they’re meant for more, and they’re trying to figure out how to get there. Hi, I’m Danielle, founder of Engage HR and HR leadership coach. I have over 20 years in HR leadership experience with brands like General Dynamics and Volvo, and now I support leaders growing and developing their leadership skills and confidence through my intentional leader program.

If you’re an individual contributor or in a leadership role without the team, HR departments have one, I’m looking at you, this master class is for you. This is meant for anyone who may be struggling to figure out what’s next. Anyone who wants to be a leader, but is unsure how to get there. You’re going to hear me refer to leadership a lot. However, even if you just want a promotion, you can follow the steps in this series to also get to the next step, even if it’s not leadership.

In my corporate career, I learned who gets promoted and who doesn’t and why. In this series, you’ll learn how to show up every day to get to the next level. There are a few reasons you could be feeling stuck.

Number 1 could be lack of opportunities. The higher you go, the less options there are. You may want to grow, but your organization doesn’t have any openings. I can help you figure out what that means for your next step, leaving the organization, or should we get creative?

Number 2, lack of visibility. I struggled with this one. I thought if I just did my job well, it would be noticed, but it’s not. You need to be visible and let people know of your accomplishments. I’ll help you do this in a way where it doesn’t feel like bragging.

Number 3, your behaviors aren’t matching the behaviors expected in the role that you want. This was a big one. If you’re gossiping, creating chaos, waiting for someone to tell you what to do next, not looking ahead, etc. these are all indicative that you’re not ready for the next step.

Number 4, you haven’t told anyone. This one’s always interesting to me. People come to work every day, do a great job, and go home. Then after 2 years, they wonder why they were never promoted or recognized. Well, you come into work and do your job you’re paid to do. You’re not going above and beyond. You’re not letting anyone know you’re ready for the next step. Making people aware gives you opportunities to showcase your abilities, but if no one knows, it could be difficult to move up. You don’t go to the drive-through window and expect them to know what you want if you didn’t tell them, do you? How is your organization supposed to know if you don’t tell them?

And number 5, maybe your job just doesn’t light you up anymore and you need to do something different. I’ve been there too. It happens. So let’s get started.

Why leadership starts before the title. Today we’re starting with the truth most people never hear. Leadership begins long before the title. The same goes for whatever role you want to move into. Are you displaying those behaviors for that role already? The people who advance fastest are the ones who understand this. If you aren’t behaving like the next level, are you even ready for the next level? Start acting like you have the job you want and you’ll get there.

Here’s the mistake most high performers make. They wait for permission. That promotion, that team, that title. They think leadership happens after they’re given a team, after the promotion, after someone recognizes their talent, but leadership doesn’t work that way. It’s an energy, not a position. People follow clarity, confidence, and the person who sees a path when no one else does, and that role is available to you right now, today, in this moment, no one has to give you permission to be a leader.

Let’s start with just one simple basic change you can make tomorrow. Do you say good morning to everyone when you come into work? What about saying good night when you leave? Ask if anyone needs support when you aren’t busy. What about ask if anyone needs support before you leave for the night? These are all indicative of leadership. They show you care, you want to support, and you’re there for your team, regardless of your title. The sooner you start displaying leadership behaviors, the sooner your leaders will notice your abilities to lead.

Think outside of yourself. These may seem like small things, but look around at the leaders in your organization. What do you see? How do they act? How do they carry themselves? When you show up clear, steady, and confident, people feel that. When you speak with intention, people listen. And when you model emotional stability, people trust you. Practice makes perfect. Many leaders led long before they had the title. I was an HR department of one. However, as an HR professional, regardless of title or team, I was expected to administer policies and procedures and support leaders in performance management and corrective action. It wouldn’t have been good if I would have been there as a witness for a write up or a termination of an employee who was caught smoking in the building, and then I walk into the bathroom and have a cigarette.

Leadership is leading by example and setting the standard, setting clear expectations. Our careers have seasons, and the season before the leadership promotion is the most important one. This is where you show up like the leader you are. You’re seen on your team as the go to person. People come to you with questions, seeking support, and just general knowledge. This is where you build your leadership identity and understand your gifts. Leadership starts in the moments where no one’s watching and develops while you think no one is noticing, but trust me, they are.

If you want a leadership title, you need to already be leading, meaning you’re already demonstrating clarity, taking initiative, bringing calm in the chaos. You’re not emotional, you’re logical, anticipating what’s needed before it’s needed, communicating with maturity and confidence. These are the qualities people recognize, even if they don’t verbalize it. If you come into work in a miserable mood every day, you’re not going to be promoted. If you just sit at your desk doing your job every day, you’re not leading. You could be a great worker, but leadership takes different skills.

Leadership takes courage, confidence, and clear direction. Courage to ask the questions. They may be questions others have. They may be only your questions, but you have the courage to ask them respectfully and to accept the answers. Confidence. How sure of yourself are you? Are you unsure when you come into work that you’re doing a good job? How do you feel when you make a mistake? Do you try to cover it up or do you own up to it? Owning those mistakes is leadership. We all make mistakes. We’re all human, but it’s how we recover from them that separates the leaders.

Clear direction. Do you know exactly where you’re going? Do you know how to get there? And if you don’t know, how will your team know when you’re a leader? Understanding the whole picture is important for leaders. And if you’re on the team without having the full picture and then go on to complain to others about the new project, that’s not leadership. Being able to understand there’s always going to be more involved than what you know. is an important part of leadership. You always need to take the assignment, ask questions behind closed doors, and then come out aligned with the leadership team regardless.

So I challenge you, if you want to level up, look at the people around you at that level. Who does it well. What do you like about them and what don’t you like? We’re all different, and when some things work for some, they don’t work for all. Start to emulate the behaviors you like within your own team. Now, I don’t mean start taking attendance or having performance conversations because don’t forget those are fun parts of leadership too. But if you want to level up, that isn’t my job should never be in your vocabulary. Jump in and help where you can, even if it’s outside of your area of expertise. Maybe you’ll learn something new, work with someone new, catch another leader’s attention.

Going above and beyond is an important part of being a leader, as well as it gives you the opportunity to further grow and develop. Maybe you’ll discover an area of the organization you had never even considered working in before, but now it piques your interest.

Take the initiative. If there’s a process that needs to be improved and everyone knows it, but no one’s taken the time to do it, take the time to do it. Get it completed. Share with the team that it’s been done. Let your leader know. When was the last time you took the initiative? Make this a weekly practice. Each week, ask yourself where you can take the initiative and take it. You don’t need the title to lead. You lead first and the title catches up.

On the next episode, we’re diving into the hidden patterns that keep high achieving professionals overlooked and how to break them.

Thanks for listening today. I support stuck professionals through my intentional leader program, which includes biweekly 1 to 1 coaching, micro-learning emails with challenges and reflections, and my strategic minute private podcast. I also share proven tools and frameworks that help me in my own corporate leadership roles. I see the brilliance in my clients long before they see it in themselves, and I hold up the mirror so they can finally recognize it too.

Remember, lead anyway. The title and team will follow.