Diary of a Leader: Why Engagement Builds Future Leaders
- Lindsay Sheldrake
- Dec 29, 2024
- 4 min read
Updated: Apr 20
Welcome to "Diary of a Leader" - Real Stories, Leadership Lessons, and Personal Growth
Ah, leadership. It’s messy, rewarding, and full of lessons you can only learn by doing.
Welcome to Diary of a Leader—a behind-the-scenes look at what it really takes to lead high-performing teams and deliver results in project-based businesses.
Whether you’re scaling operations or managing creative chaos, this space is for leaders who want to grow with clarity, confidence, and impact.
If you lead a design firm, creative studio, or project-driven team, you’ve likely felt the tension—trying to maintain excellence while everything around you shifts.
As a Fractional COO and project leadership partner, I’m here to share the insights, tools, and real-world strategies that help teams work smarter, move faster, and build better.
And today, I’m serving up a leadership lesson on why engagement and leadership development are deeply connected—and why future leaders won’t grow unless we create the conditions for them to thrive.
Engagement Isn’t About Morale—It’s About Ownership
In one of my earlier leadership roles, I remember a talented team member—let’s call her Michelle—who always executed her work well. On paper, she was dependable.
But she never brought forward ideas. She never challenged the work. She waited for direction rather than creating momentum. When I asked why, her answer stopped me:
"I just didn’t think it mattered."
That was on me.
I realized I hadn’t created an environment that invited her voice. She didn’t feel connected to the outcomes—just the tasks.
And here’s the thing: if people don’t feel like their work matters, they won’t step into leadership.
Engagement is what bridges that gap. It’s what turns good team members into emerging leaders.
What Engagement Actually Looks Like
If engagement builds future leaders, then we need to be clear on what engagement actually means.
It isn’t about pep talks or pizza parties. It’s about:
Clarity of purpose – Does your team know why the work matters?
Autonomy with support – Do they have space to lead, but tools to succeed?
Contribution beyond task – Are they encouraged to solve, shape, and lead?
Trust and visibility – Do they feel their efforts are seen and valued?
If the answer is no to any of these, leadership potential gets stalled.
The most engaged team members are the ones who don’t just feel connected to their role—they feel connected to the results.
When people understand how their actions impact outcomes, they naturally start to think like leaders.
How to Engage Your Team and Build Future Leaders
Engagement isn’t just a nice-to-have—it’s a precondition for developing leadership. So how do we cultivate it?
Invite participation early.
Don’t wait until someone has a title to involve them in decisions. Give them space to weigh in.
Tie work to outcomes.
Show how their tasks impact the client, the team, or the business. Draw the throughline.
Coach, don’t just correct.
Ask more than you tell. Help them reflect. Leadership is built through insight, not just instruction.
Give visibility. Don’t keep their wins hidden behind the scenes. Share them with others. Help them see their impact.
This is how we build engagement that leads to ownership—and ownership that leads to leadership
What Happens When Engagement Is High
I’ve seen it firsthand—engaged teams don’t wait to be told what to do. They:
Solve problems instead of escalating them.
Offer ideas before being asked.
Take responsibility for their own development.
Step into leadership roles before they’re given formal titles.
And here’s the ripple effect:
Projects move faster.
Communication improves.
Clients notice.
Team members stay longer.
High engagement doesn’t just drive better work—it builds future capacity.
The Leadership Lesson
If you’re wondering why your team isn’t stepping into leadership, start here:
Do they know their voice matters?
Are they engaged in the outcome, not just the task?
Have you shown them that their contributions lead to impact?
Because here’s the truth: leadership doesn’t start with a title. It starts with engagement.
When people feel connected, they act with purpose.When they feel empowered, they lead.
Engagement builds future leaders—not chance, not titles, and not hierarchy alone.
Wrapping Up (Because Time is Precious)
Here’s the takeaway: You don’t build future leaders by waiting for them to emerge. You build them by engaging them—early, intentionally, and consistently.
And when you do? Your team doesn’t just execute. They lead.
Catch you next time, fellow leaders-in-training—and remember, the best leaders aren’t born from luck. They’re built through engagement.
Want help creating a leadership environment where engagement thrives?
Book a free consultation to explore how to build that framework inside your business.
Stay tuned for more real-world lessons on leadership, operational clarity, and successful project delivery in the next installment of Diary of a Leader—because leading teams and managing projects isn’t about doing it all; it’s about doing what matters, exceptionally well.
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