Leadership Positions You Can Pursue

A leadership position is an occupation that requires you to manage situations, people, and items ethically and effectively. While leadership by position can be formal or informal, every type and aspect of leadership within a company or organization guides and shapes the company. Leaders are people who can motivate others using their titles, abilities, and influence to help a company or project progress. A leadership position can help you apply and develop the interpersonal skills or soft skills necessary for success in both your professional and personal life.

Learn more: Are you looking for a new job in leadership? Start here!

Some leadership positions that you may be interested in pursuing can include:

Brand manager

Average base pay: $99,153 per year Brand managers develop effective marketing campaigns. They’re involved in all phases of the campaign and help come up with a strategy to provide focus for the marketing material. Once that’s established, brand managers help create content and ensure the marketing material is distributed as intended. Brand managers monitor their marketing campaign regularly to find out how effective it is. They may also modify content or change distribution venues based on whether the marketing campaign is producing the desired results. The focus of brand managers may be more about the brand image of a company than about specific products or services, though they may also focus on the brand message that’s conveyed within product advertisements.

Plant manager

Average base pay: $101,766 per year Plant managers direct and coordinate the day-to-day operations of a manufacturing plant. This includes coming up with efficiency strategies to make sure the plant meets production standards and goals at minimal manufacturing costs. Plant managers work directly with department heads to coordinate production, purchasing, and distribution operations. Other duties that a plant manager performs include instituting procedures and policies, training administrators and supervisors, giving performance reviews, maintaining a production schedule, and motivating employees to meet production goals.

Director of operations

Average base pay: $97,767 per year Directors of operations are responsible for keeping a company or organization profitable. They oversee the direction of a company and implement new procedures and policies to run the daily operations more effectively. Depending on the company’s size, the title for this position may be a chief operating officer (COO), and they might report directly to the chief executive officer (CEO) or to the board of directors. Directors of operations usually work with other executives and overseas supervisors in sales, manufacturing, and other departments. Some of their primary responsibilities include monitoring and analyzing the company’s financial and budget reports and collaborating with department management to create financial plans.

Project manager

Average base pay: $86,040 per year Project managers manage and plan the execution of a project from start to finish. They may work in a range of industries, including law, engineering, construction, technology, and healthcare. Project managers lead and oversee a project team, create a timeline and budget for project completion, and make sure that the project is progressing accordingly. Other duties that a project manager performs include ensuring that team members understand their roles, responding to client needs, regularly communicating progress to stakeholders and clients, and adapting the project’s plan for completion accordingly.

Executive director

Average base pay: $124,114 per year Executive directors are top executives that help develop and implement the business plans that will drive an organization or company to success. Although executive directors answer to and consult with the board of directors, it’s ultimately up to the executive director to oversee the day-to-day operations and come up with future plans. Executive directors should be strong leaders who are able to influence or motivate fellow employees. Some of the job responsibilities of executive directors include leading other executives and carrying out reviews; maintaining a strong rapport with clients, the press, and employees; and designing company philosophies that will motivate employees and help the company grow.

Production manager

Average base pay: $68,932 per year Regardless of the industry, the primary duty of production managers is to ensure the efficiency and timely production of products. They continuously look for ways to improve a company’s or organization’s output by evaluating and assessing manufacturing equipment, working with team members to set and evaluate goals, reporting diagnostics and predictions to find ways to improve efficiency, overseeing employees, and maximizing performance.

Chief executive officer

Average base pay: $172,771 per year The chief executive officers usually have a wide range of duties and responsibilities that all work to help a company or organization reach its goals. CEOs provide a vision for the company’s direction and manage operations that are consistent with this vision. Some CEOs may work in specific areas of the organization, such as finance or human resources. Job duties for CEOs may include implementing new policies, hiring other managers, managing budgets, setting goals, and overseeing other top executives. The CEO can be seen as directing the organization. Along with other executives, the CEO steers a company to meet its objectives. As such, a CEO position entails considerable responsibility. All employees within the company report directly or indirectly to the chief executive.

Department supervisor

Average base pay: $39,143 per year A department supervisor’s role is to oversee and ensure the efficiency of a company’s operations in a particular area. Acting as a leader, it’s their responsibility to come up with strategies for achieving goals within a timeline and to make sure that the employees are functioning effectively in a harmonious environment. Department supervisors are also responsible for setting goals such as results and budget, training new members of the workforce, assessing employees’ activities and performance, handling and resolving conflicts, and enforcing the company’s regulations and policies.

Training and development manager

Average base pay: $77,571 per year Training and development managers ensure that the company’s or organization’s employees continue to develop the knowledge and skills that will allow them to improve their work performance. Part of their duties involve identifying what type of training is needed. To do this, they will take employee performance into account and prioritize the goals of their company. They will also collaborate with other managers to get a sense of what types of skills should be developed in employee training. Once the training and development managers have determined the training subjects, they will develop a training program. They may create their training program from scratch or look for relevant training resources or videos that they can use. They usually teach program training and development specialists who they’re also responsible for supervising. Training and development specialists lead the training programs with employees. In smaller organizations, training and development managers may also be responsible for training employees. Once the training is completed, they will gather feedback from participants to find out whether the program achieved the intended goals.

Administrative services managers

Average base pay: $60,989 per year Administrative services managers plan, direct, and coordinate services that ensure a company is smoothly run. They can either be records and information managers or facility managers. Their specific duties vary, but they make sure a company has the services and supplies it needs to function or operate effectively. The duties of administrative services managers may include the delivery of administrative services such as mail distribution and clerical support. They also create, monitor, and manage company records. They recommend changes to procedures or policies to improve operations. They’re also responsible for repairing or maintaining equipment, machinery, and mechanical and electrical systems. They ensure that facilities meet health, environmental, and security standards and comply with federal and state regulations.

Chief financial officer

Average base pay: $159,028 per year Chief financial officers (CFO) are top executives in a company or organization. They plan policies and strategies to ensure that the company achieve its goals. However, CFOs specialize in overseeing a company’s financial operations. They provide direction and leadership to financing and accounting departments to ensure that they operate efficiently, comply with company policies and applicable laws, and meet the company’s financial goals. CFOs create a company’s business strategies regarding budgets and spending. They’re often members of the company’s board of directors and, in this role, appoint financial department heads in accounting and human resources. They also invest company funds and negotiate acquisitions. Other duties that CFOs perform include overseeing all company financial transactions, recording them in databases or books, and reporting them to upper management and supervising company audits to ensure that all departments adhere to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) guidelines.

As you pursue a leadership position, it’s important to learn to help others grow at their jobs. Often, the most effective leaders are those who lift others up along the way. To learn more about leadership by position, read this guide.