Top Leadership Skills for Young Professionals + How to Hone Them Before Your Next Interview

ob interviews are one of the most stressful situations on the face of the planet. You’re trying your best to come across well and look professional and think quickly on the spot, and it all gets just a tad overwhelming. But fear not, my stunning young professionals, I’ve got a list of five leadership skills for you to hone before your next interview. With these skills, you’ll be sure to snag that job!

Today, we’re going to look at a few of the best leadership skills, including:

• Strategic Thinking
• Decision Making 
• Prioritization 
• Conflict Management
• Creativity
• And Communication

Without further ado, let’s start honing those skills!

Strategic Thinking

Strategic thinking comes in many forms, and it’s not just something you do when you’re playing chess. But honestly, the same kind of thinking involved in chess can be applied to a professional job. Strategic thinking is all about thinking about future situations from different angles and different perspectives so you can make the best choices now. It’s all about anticipation and being able to respond to changes. This type of thinking allows for young professionals to compete and navigate the business environment and to set themselves up for success in the future. It’s all about looking forward—like a psychic with a crystal ball! 

Decision-Making + Prioritization

Decision-making is one of the most important leadership skills a young professional can have. The ability to make a decision may seem like a silly skill, but making big decisions can be polarizing, and if you aren’t thinking on your feet, someone else could make that decision for you. Making good business decisions shows that you have a good understanding of the situation at hand.

By combining decision-making with prioritization, you’ll show that you can assess multiple decisions at once and decide which is the most time sensitive or most important and conquer that first. As a leader, the decisions you make will impact more than just yourself, so knowing what decision to make and when. These two skills combined are just another of the top leadership skills for young professionals. 

Conflict Management 

Though you may be a young professional, chances are you’re no stranger to conflict. Whether you’ve had scuffles with friends, family, or maybe even strangers, conflict is just a part of life. So how do you deal with it? Those who can effectively manage conflict should be able to step in and mitigate the issues before they develop further or make the company look poorly. 

And, if you want to further develop this skill, being able to spot conflict or developing conflict is another big part of the skill. Managing conflict helps create a positive work environment and improves communication in the workplace. Being able to spot developing conflict and squash it before it can turn into something more is a great way to display leadership and is definitely a skill to hone before your next interview.  

Creativity 

Creativity is often overlooked as a leadership skill because people tend to attribute it to expressions like art. But creativity is involved in so many everyday tasks and decisions. We’ve already discussed decision-making, strategic thinking, and conflict management, but all of these skills also involve using creativity. Leadership often involves thinking outside of the box in order to come up with innovative solutions and problem-solving techniques. 

Creativity feeds adaptability and new ideas. If you’re creative, you will inevitably find that adapting to new situations becomes easier and easier because you’re able to think of ways to deal with issues and problem-solve in ways others may not have noticed. Plus, creativity inspires collaboration from others. When you’re asked to dream up solutions to complex problems, bouncing ideas off of others can be really helpful and increases productivity. It’s a great skill in leaders and one you should adopt before that next interview! 

Communication

Communication is a great skill to have, in your professional life and in your personal life. Effective communication is a sign that you’re actively engaged in your work. Of course, it’s not just talking someone’s ear off. Communication also means applying active listening techniques to make others feel heard. You have the power to bring people together and create a positive environment for your colleagues.

Being a good communicator is essential for communicating an idea or a problem to someone. It can be the thing that makes or breaks a proposal or an important meeting or a big presentation. And it’s important to use effective communication to solve problems and fix mistakes. Positive feedback and constructive criticism can aid in building better and stronger workplace relationships. Communication is the foundation for a great leader, and all young professionals should hone this skill to succeed! 

How to Hone Your New Skill Set Before Your Next Interview

Now that you’ve got a solid list of skills to develop, we can start honing in on them. Before heading into your next interview, you’re going to want to make sure you have these skills down pat and are able to communicate examples to your interviewer. 

Strategic Thinking

Practicing strategic thinking can come in the form of playing games like chess. Or simply analyzing the possible outcomes of a situation. Try to ask questions about future possibilities, reflecting on the answers you come up with, and considering any opposing ideas that come your way. 

Decision-Making + Prioritization

Decision-making is a bit easier to hone. Find something you need to make a decision about—like where to order food from. Then, make a pros and cons list. The more you do this, the quicker and easier it’ll be to make a decision. 

Soon enough, you won’t need to make a list, and you’ll be able to find the pros and cons of each choice quickly and effortlessly!

Conflict Management

Practicing conflict management can come in the form of research. It helps to be able to identify the different types of conflict so you can spot them from a mile away. Once you have a grasp on the different kinds of conflict, you can start to come up with disagreements and practice disarming the argument with potential solutions. 

Creativity

Creativity is probably the most fun skill to hone. All you have to do is give yourself a break and let your mind wander. Try doodling while you work to embrace that creative side or maybe listen to some music and see where it takes you! 

Communication

Practicing communication is really quite simple. Give a friend a call and practice active listening techniques. Draft up a fake email and look over your tone and word choice. Or you could even watch a movie and focus on the body language of the actors! 

Those Were Our Top Leadership Skills for Young Professionals + How You Can Hone Them Before Your Next Interview!

By honing these skills, you’ll be sure to excel at your next interview. So get ready to show off all your new leadership skills and become a certified professional!