Leadership position and being a dictator

I began my design journey in February this year and since then I've taken 2 leadership positions in 2 different design teams. I never apply to be a leader or contact the position, it's usually handed to me by teammates who would rather not do anything.

My first leadership position was with a team of 2 ladies; a developer and a data analyst. I set meetings and begged people to show up so they could review my designs while the developer did the coding.

I got through that experience with an intense amount of patience and respect for my team members even when they didn't want to do any work. I got a lot of praise at the end of the project and compensation for my hard work.

My next leadership position was in a team of 5. We were given a tough project to do and along the way, everyone bailed except one person. I didn't want to be the leader in that situation either, it just happened and no one else wanted to do the hard work so I took over.

My team won that competition and asides from the praise, we got duly compensated by the organisers. It was an amazing experience and I was certain it would open doors for me but it didn't.

Now, I've been selected to be part of a team of 5 design leaders who are in charge of a team of over 50 designers. It's going to be an incredible experience.

Like other times, I didn't want this leadership position but I spoke up too much. I have way too many opinions and the team lead wasn't speaking up enough so I had to provide solutions and I wasn't going unnoticed. They had a meeting and forced me to be a female among the leaders.

This has to be my biggest role yet and the responsibility is even bigger. I'm part of a small group that holds the fate of over 50 people. It's going to be a lot of work and I sure hope I'm up for it.

My mom has always talked about how I make an amazing leader and I've never doubted her. I'm not as experienced as these other designers and I let them know that. I just hope I can deliver adequately.

I'll be writing often about this new leadership experience because if I get it right, the reward is going to be massive. I might finally get my huge break if I do it right.

Thanks for reading

Posted Using LeoFinance ^Beta