There are so many good young leaders. If you do not think so, you need to subscribe to Thom Rainer’s blog. You can do so here. Jonathan Howe writes for Thom and does a regular young influencer list, and the list continues to grow.

Seminaries are full of young leaders who have tons of potential.

One of the biggest questions that young leaders ask is how do they lead up? How can they influence the leader over them.

Obviously they are young with little to no experience, but have a vision that at times surpasses the vision of their leader.

So, what can a young leader do right. I mean does this mean you just have to wait until you are the senior leader to really lead? Of course not. You can do something right now.

1. Be on time

Nothing frustrates me more than when I schedule an appointment with a young leader who is not on time.

If you want those that lead you to listen to you and your ideas, respect their time and be there on time.

Put the meeting on your calendar and plan to be there on time.

It is something that every young leader should be able to do. Don’t make being late a habit.

2. Process and debrief

Every young leader needs to process before attending any meeting.

The worst thing that a young leader can do is attend meetings without processing what will be discussed beforehand.

Process the meeting, and then attend the meeting with a notebook of your ideas.

This shows that you can contribute to the meeting.

Have you ever sat in a meeting and an idea comes to you spontaneously? You say it, and then everyone says that it is a terrible idea. Oh, just me? Well, if you haven’t, you probably will. It is usually because the spontaneous idea just came to you on the spot and you have not thought the idea through.

This is why processing ahead of time means you have time to think through your ideas and plans to contribute the best version of your idea.

Also, always debrief after the meeting. Spend more time processing about how you can effectively carry out whatever was discussed in the meeting.

3. Dedicate your time

Look, your organization or church believes in you! You would not be in your position if they didn’t.

So, give of your time!

Don’t make it frustrating for your boss or leader to find time to meet with you.

Don’t be “that guy” who only does the minimal requirement possible. As a leader who manages interns, those people are the least likely people that I will hire. Just FYI.

The best young leaders are those who give above and beyond the requirement. [Click to Tweet]

This makes your boss happy with you. This is how you will get a killer recommendation from your boss one day.

Dedicate your time to whatever it is you are hired to do.

I guarantee you that your boss and leader did not get where they are today by doing the bare minimum. They gave of their free time to contribute to where they are right now.

So you do the same!

Look, these are three simple things that every young leader can do right now to lead and lead up.