<span style="font-weight: 400;">To say I ‘fell’ into leadership is probably a little unfair, but when I found myself running a small sales team several years ago, I fully admit to suffering from imposter syndrome.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Somehow, I’d achieved a position of authority (and a board seat) without any formal training. Not only that, but I’d spent several years at the same company working within the lower ranks.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">How did that happen?</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Now, I’m running my own tiny business (‘tiny’, because it’s just me), and looking back at that period with fresh eyes and a slightly more worldly mind-set, I can identify three things I did to become a leader without any formal training...</span>
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<h4><b> I didn’t chase a big salary</b></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">At school, I fancied being either a professional writer or doing something in the IT field.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">I opted for the latter, and, had I been determined enough, I may well have put my brief schooling in software programming to use. Who wouldn’t after all, want to bag a salary that now stands at an average of </span><a href="http://www.ecardshack.com/blog/linkedin-payscale-popular-tech-jobs-compare"><span style="font-weight: 400;">$92,000</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;">/year?</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Alas, I didn’t. I simply waited and jumped at opportunities within the same company to lead - not to earn a big pay-packet.</span>
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<h4><b> I didn’t attempt to be anyone but myself</b></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">I’m not a fan of conflict, nor am I particularly loud, brash or extrovert. Yet, it’s often assumed that leaders need those personality traits in droves if they’re to be successful. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">I found the opposite was true.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">I wanted to become a leader, but one who was known for being open, approachable and capable of listening. It was something of a relief, therefore, to find that being </span><a href="http://www.strattoncraig.co.uk/blog/thought-leader-time-everyone-else/"><span style="font-weight: 400;">‘Mr Nice Guy’</span></a><span style="font-weight: 400;"> is considered by many to actually not be a bad thing at all.</span>
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<h4><b> I made a bucket load of mistakes</b></h4>
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<span style="font-weight: 400;">With the benefit of a few extra years’ experience, I now look back at my time as leader of that small team and realise the most important thing I did was slip up - regularly.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">At the time, I felt inadequate - embarrassed, even - when I made a mistake, but I now understand the value of being infallible. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">I never made the same mistake twice. In fact, I did everything I could to rectify any slip up and ensure it would never happen again. </span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">But that wasn’t all; I readily admitted when I got something wrong. Rather than burying my head in the sand, brushing the error under the carpet or apportioning blame, I always put my hand up and acknowledged it was me.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Don’t get me wrong, this was never particularly easy - nor did it always elicit the best response from the team - but it </span><i><span style="font-weight: 400;">did</span></i><span style="font-weight: 400;"> make me a much better leader.</span>
<h4><b>Wrapping up</b></h4>
<span style="font-weight: 400;">I lead just myself these days, and I love it, but I wouldn’t swap those years spent as the leader of a small team for anything. They molded my personality and made me capable of starting my own business.</span>

<span style="font-weight: 400;">Imposter syndrome is no bad thing at all, and while leadership training should always be considered, if you happen to fall into such a role, my tale will hopefully give you some reassurance that you’ll be just fine.</span>

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