Leadership – The Many Layers of Working your Way up
There are many facets of being a good leader.
You train hard and you work hard. You take the time and energy to take it upon yourself to help coach those around you.
Being a leader isn’t simply being a boss, its being a mentor and helping others achieve their goals.
Its coming in early and staying late.
Its picking up the work that no one else wants to do.
Its putting in time and energy into learning new things and keeping on top of your skills and all of the latest trends.
All of this should really be common knowledge and come as no surprise.
Its the basics of climbing the corporate ladder – or any ladder.
You put the time and work in – and ideally you are recognized and rewarded.
However there is even more than that.
Beyond the time, effort, training, and acting as a role model, you really need to dig deep not just within yourself, but within the business and the company you work for.
Understanding the business perspective – the goals, thoughts, processes, and all of the little things that go on behind the scenes.
This is just as important as putting in the dirty work on the front line.
Understanding what makes the business tick – what drives not just yourself but the company itself.
Having the perspective of all angles of the company is what truly propels you as a leader.
Keeping the big picture in focus and not always settling on the little things.
When you decide to embark on the path of leadership, there are a lot of things that probably seem mundane to you now, but play a role in the bigger picture – the bigger picture in which you want to lead.
Decisions that were once made on the fly with little regard to how they may affect things, now require a bit more time and effort and definitely more consideration.
Simple things such as cutting staff early or asking other to come in early. These may seem like simple tasks with relatively easy solutions – but they could have an impact on other things.
Total hours worked in a day, or a week play a huge role from a scheduling and a payroll perspective. It plays an even larger role when it comes to how many hours a person can legally work in a day or a week both from a labour perspective and an overtime perspective.
Understanding the basic rules that even apply to these little things are the stuff that separates a leader for a little while – to a long term leader with big goals in mind.
Forget about split second decisions. You now need to think about what is best for the employee, what is best for the company and what is best for the client. A balancing act that is seldom ever easy.
Things can get very political. You learn the difference between opinions, wants, needs, and in the end – what really works and what really needs to happen.
Finding a diplomatic way to tread through these sometimes choppy waters will usually help as you quickly learn to navigate from the inner workings of a business.
Its understanding and knowing when to put friendships aside and put the company first, and make sure your actions are the best representation and best move for the company itself.
At the end of the day, you are the face of the company, and all of your actions and reactions are representing the company.
You need to make sure what and who you’re working for, is going to be what you want to represent, and what you want as an extension of you and your life.
It all goes hand in hand.
Being open, mindful, attentive, and resourceful as well as having a full view of the business perspective and understanding it, is going to help propel you further in your career.
Guest Blogger Rayna Davies
Rayna Davies is a graduate and practitioner of Business Management. She has developed an expertise in blogging, covering subjects like travel, world events and security. Having grown up with a father who has developed an expertise in Physical Security and Executive Protection in the RCMP and two major corporations, she has personally observed and 
experienced many security details. These experiences have included personally meeting HM Queen Elizabeth, Prime Minister Jean Chretien and many celebrities. She presently assists Sentinel Security in Executive Protection workshops and guest blogging and also assists Gloprosec Preventative Services in Intelligence gathering and Business Administration. Her passions include World travel, having visited every continent.
