Many emerging leaders don’t think about their leadership development until something dramatic has happened to them in their career. Maybe they’ve been overlooked for a promotion or perhaps they don’t receive the high-level projects they need to prove themselves. These critical events push people to start thinking about at their leadership development. Have you experienced critical events like these?When you’re early in your career, things go smoothly for you. You don’t have much responsibility and most of your effort goes toward learning the job. But at some stage, you might reach a breaking point. You might start to notice obstacles or blocks appearing in your career journey. It’s at this point, you’re likely to understand how important leadership development is in your career and wished you’d invested in it earlier. In this episode, I go into five reasons why you need to think about leadership development early in your career so you can be ready before a leadership opportunity lands in your lap.In this episode, I discuss:How people wait for a critical event to happen before they think about their leadership development.A whole other area of your professional development (your soft skills) that is critically important in leadership.How learning about leadership early in your career helps you advance faster.How learning about leadership development can help you differentiate yourself and stand out.How bosses are risk averse and they need to see you demonstrate leadership capability before they promote you.You need to have your own interests in mind for your career journey because your boss may not.How Jack Welch, ex-CEO of General Electric, stood out from the pack to become a great leader.Resources mentionedEpisode 001 - How the Leadership Pod Can Help You as an Emerging LeaderBook: “Jack: What I’ve Learned Leading a Great Company and Great People”, Jack Welch & John A. Byrne, 2001, Headline Book Publishing. Listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts here:  https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/002-why-you-need-to-think-about-leadership-development/id1500219829?i=1000466475892Love the show? Let me know!Are you a fan of The Leadership Pod? Have the tips, insights and strategies I share with you helped you increase your visibility and influence so you can unlock your leadership potential?Head over to Apple Podcasts and tell me how this podcast has helped you by leaving a review. And don’t forget to subscribe so you can be the first to know when I release a new episode.What are you waiting for? Head over to Apple Podcasts, leave a review and subscribe! Join the Executive Impressions’ Community of Emerging Leaders!Want even more tips and insights so you can advance into leadership? Join my monthly newsletter  http://www.executive-impressions.com/your-giftFollow me on LinkedIn!LinkedIn is my number one social media platform and I would love you to join me there. Everyday I share tips and insights and a lot of video posts around leadership that you won’t find anywhere else. And the conversations over on LinkedIn are next to none! Thank you for listening to this episode of The Leadership Pod!