How to prosper as a young leader at work

Becoming a successful young leader at work might not be easy but it’s well within your reach. Learn how to turn your insecurities into strengths to see continued career development.

As a modern young leader, you should be immensely proud of reaching this level. You now have an influential position amongst many of your peers and are continuing to rise up the ranks to being successful in your career.

However, naturally, you will sometimes feel out of your depth and you are certainly not alone. You might also be reluctant to ask questions due to the fear you'll appear too young for the role. But, it is possible to turn those fears around and channel them into personal and professional strength.

Succeeding as a young leader at a glance

Young leaders can often experience feelings of self-doubt deriving from their age. You might find yourself considering the following questions:

• Am I well-placed to weigh in on major discussions, given that I have fewer years’ experience than my counterparts?
• Should I ask for help or guidance?
• Will people listen or take me seriously?

If this reflects your uncertainties, then be assured that this is in fact beneficial. This self-doubt can be honed into self-awareness and the ability to acknowledge your flaws, you will find yourself constantly improving. The key is to tackle these challenges head on, with a problem-solving and proactive attitude.

Find out what you can do to succeed as an emerging leader in the workplace below.

If you are looking for expert advice or support with your employment needs, please contact your local consultant.

Know your strengths

Before you do anything else, know and believe in your unique value. You already have the skills to be appointed to a leadership role at such a young age. Ask yourself, why did they hire you? What were the skills that made you stand out from other candidates and how can you continue to utilise these in your new position?

Use your age as an advantage

Remember that you, as a young leader, can offer a unique perspective and attitude that your counterparts may not possess. A recent study conducted by Harvard Business Review found that the lack of experience in younger leaders often equates to a lack of cynicism. Therefore, you are more likely to maintain an optimistic outlook and welcome change and innovation. If you look at this from a different angle, self-doubt is actually one quality that makes you invaluable as a leader.

In addition, you can offer up a fresh, outside point of view. Firstly, because you'll be less set in your ways and open to trying new ways of doing things.

It also hasn’t been too long since you were interacting with the more junior people within your organisation. These people are typically the employees with more customer-facing roles and are able to offer a more customer-centric, insightful perspective. Considering your recent exposure to these team members, you can channel this perspective and contribute some valuable insights. 

Be honest about your skills gaps

There may be certain gaps in your knowledge that are getting in the way of you being fully confident in your abilities to manage and prosper in your new role. Be honest with yourself and make a plan to bridge these gaps. Don’t be afraid to ask your line manager for support, either as coaching from them or external training.

It is also important to be patient with yourself. You were put in this position on the premise of your current leadership skills but also on your potential, so nobody expects you to know everything straight away. What they do expect is that you continuously improve, ensuring that you are learning as you go. This is something all effective leaders will do, regardless of their age and experience.

Find a mentor

Find an established leader who started in a similar position to you, as they will be able to provide you with guidance and reassurance. Realise that they had the same or similar anxieties and are now here to help you prosper.

Is there anyone you particularly look up to within your organisation and how could you learn from these people? Some organisations will offer mentoring programmes, whereby you can frequently have one-to-ones with your mentor and discuss any situations which you are struggling to navigate. Many well-known leaders also publish LinkedIn Influencer blogs and books, sharing the struggles that they experienced during their early days, and how they overcame them.

Believe in yourself

Just because you are following the above steps in order to grow, that doesn’t mean you should manage with any less self-belief than those around you. Yes, you are young, but that doesn’t mean the decisions you make are wrong by default. As mentioned before, you clearly already have achieved great accomplishments at your disposal, or else you wouldn’t have been appointed to your position. Trusting your gut and believing in what you are saying or doing when leading others will earn you much respect. 

What you need to remember about succeeding as a young leader

Self-awareness is a vital skill for trusted and successful leaders of any age. Channelling your self-doubt into self-awareness instead will be an asset that helps you prosper in your professional life. You may not always get everything right and people may disagree with you, but learning from these experiences is what makes a good young leader.

For more career lessons and insights, take a look at our career advice page.