Maintain open and respectful communication with stakeholders and colleagues.

Maintain a list of potential leaders that you hear about from other colleagues, staff, friends.

List the five most important core values you live by and how you think you positively exhibit them. Ask a colleague or your supervisor for their input.

Leverage your internal networks and news outlets to gain a better understanding of organizational politics.

Leverage the strengths of a direct report in a different capacity by assigning them to a role that is unfamiliar to them.

Leverage talent from diverse areas of your unit to participate on a project in need of that skill or experience.

Leverage talent across departments to fill in gaps, innovate, and optimize everyone's contributions while minimizing waste.

Learn to apply frameworks and S.M.A.R.T. tools for understanding and making everyday financial decisions. Demonstrate your understanding to your direct reports.

Learn the organizational workings of your unit, and identify the decision makers and the best means to communicate with them (e.g., directly or through an assistant).

Learn problem solving skills (e.g., ask more open ended questions, break down a problem into small components and analyze).