To recap, part 1 of the series focused on both self-compassion and positive self-talk. Part 2 focused on recognizing and welcoming your cheerleading squad. Part 3 focused on how to grow as a leader to be a better cheerleader. The final segment focuses on finding and growing future leadership cheerleaders. Knowing what to look for in future leadership cheerleaders doesn’t require much effort and can be highly rewarding. Let me share three ways I seek out future leadership cheerleaders and what I do to help grow them to pay it forward.
Tip 1 – Look in front of you – those you cheerlead are great candidates
As a leader, you are setting an example of how one’s leader can be supportive, empathetic, and, in a sense, their greatest cheerleader in a professional setting. When you show up as a cheerleader to your team, peers, and mentees, they will most likely pay it forward and become excellent cheerleaders themselves. Recruiting them to become a leadership cheerleader might not take much, and they may do so without any encouragement. Sometimes, you might need to nudge them to become a cheerleader to others during a conversation or 1-on-1 meeting.
How:
- It can be as simple as a suggestion or as specific as asking them to mentor someone else whom you feel needs someone in their corner.
- A stronger nudge would be sending an email, making a phone call, or pinging someone in Teams or Slack and asking them if they would be willing to mentor, coach, or chat with the individual.
My advice:
- Follow up with both parties to see how successful the connection is.
- Be specific to the future leadership cheerleaders and let them know you hope they will become leaders to others.
- Ask them what additional support they need to be a leadership cheerleader in the future.
Tip 2 – Look at leadership development opportunities to be a mentor to others
When you join mentorship programs or accept an ask from someone to be their mentor, you are signing up to be a leadership cheerleader. The advice and support you provide them will help shape their future capabilities, which they typically, in turn, will share with others. You are demonstrating and communicating why it is important to you to mentor them and what you get out of the relationship. I have not met anyone in a powerful mentoring relationship who did not pay it forward. I cannot think of a better way to recruit others to be leadership cheerleaders in the future. I actively encourage those I mentor to become a mentor to grow their leadership capabilities.
How:
- Look inward at your organization for formal mentorship programs or external programs (e.g., WIL – Women In Leadership Foundations mentorship program)
- Meet with colleagues from outside your organizational structure to see if individuals are looking to be mentored by you.
- Offer to mentor someone interested in becoming a leader or growing their career. It is scary at first, but putting yourself out there is part of being a leader.
- Be open to people reaching out to you to be a mentor to themselves or others they know.
- There are so many more ways – be curious and open to the how – the sky’s the limit.
My experience:
- Career conversations can quickly turn into informal mentorship relationships, and I use those as opportunities to grow future leadership cheerleaders.
- I participate in formal mentorship programs inside my company and externally as part of WIL and my MBA program for current students.
- I have offered mentorship to some people I have interviewed but not hired because I saw the potential and knew there was experience and advice I could offer them to help them achieve their goals.
Tip 3 – Consider creating a community of practice where you can share your cheerleading methods
People establish Communities of Practice (CoP) for many reasons and growing future leadership cheerleaders is a great one to start in your organization or community. Setting up CoPs is not hard, nor does it take much work to run. You can certainly use the concept to recruit future cheerleaders, share tips and tricks with them, and learn a few new ones yourself.
How:
- Find a forum to create a new CoP (e.g., LinkedIn)
- Recruit a few highly motivated members to kick off the CoP
- Set a few fundamental ground rules and regular cadence of meetings (if virtual or in-person)
- Be open to future leaders (who have leadership as a growth opportunity) joining
- Be open to when it makes sense to decommission the CoP when the natural flow of participation fades
My experience:
- Leadership CoPs can be powerful avenues to finding future leadership cheerleaders by sharing and learning from others.
- CoPs have ebbs and flows, and there is always a natural time to decommission the channel
- Bring speakers or guests who can share their best practices and encourage experimenting.
- Offering a takeaway at each session, whether it is a set of written tips or a book recommendation, encourages future pay-it-forward
- Asking those present to commit to being a leadership cheerleader to others is a great way to pay it forward and grow future leaders themselves.
That concludes the four-part blog series Leaders are Cheerleaders. I’d love to hear about your tips and tricks if you try any of the above strategies or recommendations.
Follow Penny on LinkedIn or checkout theizzyway.ca for more of her blog posts.
