There are three ways that you can use your strengths to develop your leadership potential:

Find new ways to use your strengths – be curious about how this could potentially look in your role as a leader.

Teach other people – this could be other people in your team, other leaders within your organisation, or by using your online visibility to educate others in your industry.

Learn from the best – think about a leader who you have worked alongside or who you admire. Spot ways in which you can learn from them in order to stretch your strengths.

Developing your leadership potential will mean pushing yourself out of your comfort zone. It can be easy to let fear get in the way and end up staying where you are. So approach these upcoming challenges with self-compassion, positivity, and realism.

When you treat challenges as learning opportunities, feedback as chances to develop and focus more on the journey, than the end result then it will be easier to make progress towards your goal. Reflecting on how far you’ve come will increase your resilience when you’re taking on that next leadership role.

Be proactive and create your own plan for your leadership potential. Do a gap analysis for the next leadership role you want. Think about how you learn best and what skills you need to develop to plug those gaps and fulfill your leadership potential.

This career development won’t be done overnight, so consider how much time you can realistically dedicate to this on a weekly basis whilst still maintaining a good work/life balance.

Allow yourself to be open to opportunities, potential new projects, people, and possibilities. I always recommend that people tell their boss about their development plans because then they’ll be there to support you, encourage you, and potentially help to increase your career and development opportunities.

You can use these four tools to increase your leadership potential and fulfill the 2024 career goals you have set for yourself.