Leadership is often a misunderstood term. A leader is a role, not a title. Many budding entrepreneurs dream of holding the top position at a multinational corporation. They erroneously believe they can only choose from a few career paths to be the next Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg or Tim Cook.
You need strong leadership skills to qualify for a C-suite executive role anywhere. However, you don’t necessarily have to head a Fortune 500 company, earn a six-figure salary and get a penthouse office in the heart of a global city to be a head honcho. In this post, you’ll understand why and familiarize yourself with less-touted fields worth considering to leave an imprint in the world.
Leadership is a set of behaviors meant to inspire and influence people to achieve common goals through planning and execution. Leaders have a clear vision, identify paths toward its realization and maximize the available resources to bring it to life.
Many confuse leaders with managers. Leadership and management aren’t mutually exclusive. Although managers are de facto leaders since they’re in charge of something or someone, their primary job description includes setting and enforcing rules and supervising a group to hit defined objectives. Leaders don’t need managerial roles to motivate followers to act.
Majoring in business management, computer science, engineering, law or economics is something prominent leaders across various sectors share. Such degrees help build foundational knowledge of how prestigious industries work. However, with continuous learning, you can carve out a niche for yourself as a leader in these overlooked domains.
The age of AI has arrived, sparking fierce debates about its merits and dangers. Although its advocates and naysayers have solid points, everybody will agree that the genie is out of the bottle.
Groundbreaking AI projects have the potential to help or harm. Each needs a head who’s a brainiac with a heart of gold to keep the innovation in check and ensure it ultimately becomes a force for good instead of darkness.
Artificial intelligence career paths open doors for the coolest roles, such as data scientist, robotics engineer, software architect and business intelligence developer. Although skill requirements vary by profession, many AI project leaders are generally adept in programming, machine learning, mathematics, deep learning and natural language processing.
This sector makes the world go round. It’s among the definite backbones of the world economy, driving globalization that has improved the quality of life of billions. Yet, most don’t fully appreciate the maritime industry’s value. Conflict between nuclear powers could erupt due to sea trade route disruptions, which is a testament to the sector’s significance.
Occupying a leadership role in this business means more than traveling to places few have seen, making more than $95,000 annually, enjoying uninterrupted lengthy vacations and reveling in unshakeable job security. Ultimately, you can go beyond the deck, join international trade associations to influence policymaking and use your unique expertise to help the sector sail the rough seas.
Maritime is also ripe for disruption, creating technology career paths faster than ever. If you love seafaring and innovation, you’ll find this field fulfilling.
Many view sustainability as a movement — a significant facet of the current era’s zeitgeist. However, it’s fast becoming a viable career as more businesses embrace greener practices as part of their environmental, social and governance strategies.
Reversing the environmental ills threatening the world’s fitness for human habitation is arduous. It requires about-face from mainstream business models to shape a greener future.
The beauty of gaining a foothold in sustainability is that it’s universal. This decision doesn’t ask you to abandon your dream profession as a child — you only need to rewire your brain to balance the planet's health and profit.
For example, decarbonizing the auto industry is more financially rewarding and intellectually challenging than transporting cargo over long distances and fixing broken cars for a lifelong gearhead. Helping transform the perennially dirty and wasteful construction sector is a laudable goal for a green-minded person who respects the trades.
Making it in this arena takes more than passion and ambition. You must acquire technical skills to qualify for leadership roles and make a huge difference. Pursuing a sustainability-focused MBA will render virtually countless career paths accessible since corporations, public agencies and nongovernmental organizations seek credentialed talent with green core competencies to help build a cleaner economy.
Being a decision-maker in a grant organization is a dream job for anyone who wants to change the world. It’s hard to believe that helping startups with bright ideas conceived to solve the world’s pressing problems and funding altruistic charities dedicating their resources to support the underprivileged and disenfranchised is a promising career — but it is.
Explore this avenue if you’re philanthropic but lack the capital to fund the projects you deem worthy of supporting. Developing the acumen to allocate large amounts of financial resources prudently can help advance human civilization, eliminate unnecessary suffering in the world and uplift millions from poverty.
Admittedly, aiming for grantmaking later in your career is wise since your foundations will find your leadership qualities more useful after gaining a wealth of experience in a specific domain. Still, pondering it as early as possible can encourage you to do well and accelerate your professional growth.
Although some fields are more glamorous than others, flashy isn’t always worthwhile. You only live once, so consider every possibility in your life to choose the right career, maximize your character strengths and leave a legacy you can be proud of when you retire.
Cover Photo by Vitaly Gariev on Unsplash
Alex Quin is a full-stack marketing expert and global keynote speaker. Founder and Chief Marketing Officer of UADV Marketing - a member of the Forbes Agency Council.
