Dr. Holly Latty-Mann, president of The Leadership Trust®, www.leadershiptrust.org

Throughout a person’s career, opportunities for advancement and job development will often arise. Promotions seem to drop right into the laps of some people, while others are continually mystified as to why they are skipped over on a regular basis. The difference between the two groups of people often lies in their leadership skills.

Leadership is all about relationships and communication skills. A person can be very talented within her industry, understand all of the nuts and bolts and recognize the industry trends, but without the ability to effectively communicate with others, she will have created a glass ceiling over her head that is very difficult to break through. In fact, she may not even get past the initial job interview, which is when a candidate’s potential for leadership is first analyzed.

There are no born leaders – leadership is a skill that is learned over time. As people grow and mature, their leadership skills also develop. Because people often times learn through trial and error, the path to effective leadership tends to be a life-long journey. It can safely be said that leadership characteristics are essential to career advancement, and people must actively work on developing those skills if they hope to succeed within their industry.

Develop Self-Awareness

Self-awareness plays a vital role in successful leadership because people who have not mastered themselves cannot effectively lead others. Most people operate out of habit rather than choice, which explains why traditional leaders in a work environment are used to doing something in a particular way and they dismiss ideas that do not match the typical protocol. Whether this is a conscious or unconscious decision, people act according to their belief systems. They reject negative feedback that contradicts the beliefs and shut down whenever they hear it. When people muster the courage to receive constructive feedback, without a defensive posture, indicating how they may be adversely affecting their organizations, only then can they actively take on a leadership role to address the problem.

Only when people recognize their strengths and weaknesses will they be able to break through the ceiling and advance their career. Increased self-awareness enables leaders to recognize their own mistakes, learn from them and figure out how to correct them in the future. They will be able to look at unusual situations from different points of view and have an increased level of creativity when thinking of ways to answer these problems. People who have developed their self-awareness have the kind of self-confidence that empowers others, eliciting input from them on various projects and company operations. .

Unfortunately, leaders who are unaware of their personal belief system often do not realize that their inability to react to new and unusual situations hurts not only the company’s bottom line, but also their own career advancement. Regardless of how many hours a person puts in on a weekly basis, it is highly unlikely that someone who is stopping or slowing company growth will be promoted.

Be Assertive, Not Aggressive

Confrontation is unavoidable in business. Ideas are tossed around in meetings and chances are high that not everyone will agree on everything. However, when a meeting is headed in an unexpected direction, confrontation should not be avoided. The head of an organization, as well as coworkers, will notice when someone stands up for her opinion. She should be assertive and aware of the body language that she is presenting – a person who holds a steady gaze and faces the opposing person with a full face and body will gain increased respect for her point of view. A person who avoids confrontation will not be viewed as a strong leader. However, people in this situation should be careful that they are not too aggressive. Being aggressive can lead to diminishing returns and may produce very undesirable results.

In cultures where women are not typically viewed as business leaders, women in conversations dominated by men should be careful not to act aggressive or like one of the men, as that may result in the men becoming even more domineering. The best action for a woman to take in that type of situation is to be true to herself, stating calmly her position. Women who have honed their self-awareness tend to be experienced as authentic, as they assert their truth in a confident manner. As such, these women become known for their leadership abilities, serving as role models for other women while offering men a picture of non-stereotypical women. Coworkers resultantly experience a meaningful connection with these authentic female leaders, and that will inspire them to become the motivated and productive associates that every company needs.

Again, effective leadership is all about strong relationship skills. When it comes to careers, the key thing to remember is that someone who is following their passion and has strong leadership skills will be able to beat the competition for any job. It does not get any better than that.

Dr. Holly Latty-Mann is the president and co-founder of The Leadership Trust®, an organization which builds leaders from the inside out by offering tuition-guaranteed, personalized leadership development programs with emotional intelligence focus. Dr. Latty-Mann specializes in facilitating leadership workshops, performing comprehensive leadership impact studies, corporate assessments, onsite team-building workshops and strategic culture studies for diverse businesses and industries.