Moving into leadership can be challenging, whether you’re just starting out or climbing the corporate ladder within your current company. Here are three ways you can step into leadership without feeling overwhelmed about your next move.

Write stuff down

It’s easy to get so caught up in your day to day work that you neglect to write down all the awesome things you have done during your tenure. Expecting your boss to remember all your successes is a mistake. Crazy thing, your boss is not responsible for building your career.

Do yourself a favor and start writing down all the projects you’ve successfully completed. Tally up all the revenue you’ve brought to the company and how many accounts you’ve landed. The point is, you have to be able to clearly articulate your value if you expect to be recognized as a leader and someone of value within the organization. If you don’t, you’re just doing your job like everyone else and there is no reason to identify you as someone set apart from the norm.

Behave as a leader

If you want people to recognize you as a leader, you’ll have to show leadership traits such as building trust with others, resolving conflict, and moving people into action. People need to know they can come to you with problems and you can help them to solve those problems. They need to know you will take the time to understand their issue and help them come to a resolution. If no one sees you as a problem solver, they will not think of you when leadership opportunities come up. Leaders step up to challenges, they are resourceful, and they are reliable. You must develop these qualities if you want to be recognized as a leader.

Build solid relationships

Take time to build relationships with managers and leaders/influencers within your organization. Find out what they like, what their problems are, and how you can be valuable to them. Don’t go to influencers with your hand out expecting them to do you a favor. Ask them what you can do for them and discover issues they are facing within their work environment. Doing this will not only help them, but it will also help you to prepare more for the position they are in.  It is 100% your responsibility to create a relationship with your manager. So, take initiative to get to know the powerful influencers who hold the positions you desire to be in.