​Leaders are taught, not born.

Leaders are learners, not naturally talented.

Leaders learn from failure, not always successful.

To be a good leader, one must want to lead and put in the necessary work. Ford Harding, the author of the bestselling book, Rain Making: Attract New Clients No Matter What Your Field, says he discovered several commonalities in all-star business leaders.

1. Leaders are highly productive early in their careers
   Leaders learned early to develop client relationships and build loyalty. These young professionals found the unpopular project others in the firm did not like and cranked out project after project in unpopular disciplines. This mix of client relationship building and productivity creates marketing savvy few young professionals are willing to develop.
2. Leaders take an interest in marketing early in their careers.
   Leaders find marketing tasks they are either good at or can develop and exercise those tasks to perfection. For some, it may be networking and the ability to build a large and loyal network of professionals who feed them consistent leads. For others, it may be writing excellent marketing content, project photography, presenting subject matter expertise, cross-selling other services, etc.
3. Leaders credential themselves and never stop learning.
   Whatever your field, leaders understand the value of credentialing and specializing. Leaders discover opportunities to both expand and deepen their skills, both technical and business. Formal recognition of your abilities establishes trust and confidence with clients. Great leaders never stop learning or growing in their profession.
4. Leaders look for ways to improve their firm’s services.
   Beyond their personal brand and ability to produce, leaders have a keen eye for continual improvement. Leaders find ways to save money, create efficiencies, and improve the business performance of their firms. And this happens primarily because leaders find ways to make and keep clients happy.
5. Leaders become specialists.
   Leaders eventually become specialists. Rather than generalizing, doing different projects with different clients in different markets, leaders hone in on one or two areas of specialty and become experts with deep knowledge and experience. This depth creates a bench of steady clients and a stellar reputation within the leader’s given market.
   
   

My challenge to you is this. Make yourself a good leader. Do not settle for letting your career come to you, but create the career you want. Be productive, learn to market, credential, improve your company, and specialize. 

There is a verse in the Bible that says, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). While there is a spiritual context for this truth, I believe the truth of power coming from weakness is also wisdom for our lives. It is true, that God has a knack for doing big things, grand things, in very small packages, even weak objects. Jesus fed thousands from one boy’s sack lunch. So, what does this have to do with marketing professional services?

I have heard many technical professionals in the engineering profession simply dismiss themselves from being good at marketing and business development. This is because most technical professionals see themselves as weak in the primary skills of good marketing. They see marketing as requiring soft skills they do not have. Sometimes, it may be that they are good at it, but simply do not enjoy it. Time spent flattering clients, schmoozing at a networking event, or entertaining on the golf course is not how they wish to spend their time. Therefore, they simply chalk it up to weakness and excuse themselves from marketing.

But the wisdom of Scripture and promise of God is to demonstrate His power, specifically in your weaknesses. The very skills and personality traits you dismiss as weak, and, consequently, never exercise, are the very weaknesses in which God wishes to demonstrate power. For example, by personality and nature, I am not well-organized. I tend to be forgetful and distracted. However, many years ago, I committed to doing better and submitted this weakness to God asking for help and practicing better organization skills. Now, God has demonstrated His power in me, making me well-organized. I encourage you to exercise skills that are naturally weak in you. Ask God for help. His power can be made perfect in your weakness.

​Another way of examining this same truth is to think of every weakness as a two-sided coin. It is not unusual for people to discover that some of their greatest weaknesses are actually great strengths in disguise. One of my other weaknesses (other than being naturally disorganized), is to jump in to make recommendations or suggestions when I should just be quiet and listen. This is obnoxious and tends to shut others down who take more time to think things through before speaking up. While I have worked on this weakness and tried to keep my mouth shut in a group and let others speak first, there are situations when speaking up early is helpful to the group leader. Because I am comfortable speaking up, I try to recognize each situation and behave in a manner that is best for the group.