3 Aspects of Developing Leadership Skills

Everyone knows that great leaders are made, not born. However good that statement sounds, we still want to know how we "make" or turn people effective leaders. And other questions need to be answered about the process of leadership development.

So how DO you boost your leadership skills? If you want toimprove your ability to lead, where should you focus yourattention? Why are certain leadership talents moreimportant than others?

To Boost or not to - that's a good question

Would you want to be a leader with more skills? Yes,especially when you consider the opportunities "more" skills offer you. You would want to effectively plan a strategy or generate purposeful agenda to meet the challenges of your daily situations.

You could employ different skills to encourage your team to perform beyond their ordinary level, bridge the gaps causing low morale in your followers or coach and counsel people who face difficult circumstances.

With more skills, you would be better prepared to take action with greater confidence, and you would act more decisively.

Having more skills means you have:

=> More options, styles and capabilities to choose from,

=> More approaches to evaluating or solving your "problems",

=> More opportunities to innovate.

In the world of leaders, you must agree that "more is definitely better!"

Quo Vadis? Whither doth thou goest? Where should you focusyour attention?

Taking a journey involves having an intent and a destination in your mind. Your leadership training, development and educational efforts demand the same kind of purposeful mind-set.

Your reasons for improving your leadership abilities will depend upon your working conditions, operating environment and other organizational factors.

For instance, what types of situations do you face, how will yourleadership skills be applied?

- Will you lead a special or critical one-time project?

- Will you lead others who directly report to you or areunder your direct influence?

- Will you lead people who are outside your sphere ofcontrol [such as, your clients, partners from othercompanies, or members of your community]?

You must focus your attention on providing service throughyour leadership. To look at leadership in this light, youwill need to know what types of leadership service arerequired:

=> Should your style be dictating or nurturing;

=> Should more of your time be spent listening and observing;

=> Should your behavior be motivating or modeling;

=> Should your role be instructing or supervising and so on.

Leadership is not a "wondering-about" activity - when leaders are aimless. their followers are clueless, and everyone's efforts are worthless.

Show and Tell or tell and show - it depends on your talents

Because you do have strengths and weaknesses, you owe it toyourself to investigate your talents honestly and deeply.Are you a strong communicator, do you usually think aboutor see things in a positive light, can you easily adaptyourself to deal with changes, are you flexible?

Your strengths will empower your effectiveness and yourweaknesses will betray you and disgust, disappoint ordiscourage others. The trick you need to turn is found inusing your strengths to analyze and overcome your weaknesses.

Let me explain myself -

I have a fairly strong ability to react to andperceive the subtleties of my surroundings - but there aretimes when I realize that my understanding of someone's behavior is wrong. When I'm incorrect in my assessment, it would be wise for me to acknowledge my error and apologize for being insensitive to that person's plight or burden.

Another way to overcome your weakness is to delegate yourauthority to and share your power with someone who has agreater strength, more time or a stronger relationship thanyour do. But you should always be aware of your skills,knowledge and connections to others.

In a word, you want to maintain a constant inventory of your attributes, tendencies and shortfalls.

Your portfolio of strengths will affect your decisions to embarkon prudent courses of action, with knowledge of yourweaknesses you can defend the threats to your mission bydeveloping alternative plans or assign tasks to other people.

Once you have determined the state of your strengths, youcan use your skills-inventory

=> To act in innovative or more creative ways;

=> To establish appropriate and effective patterns, structures or solutions;

=> To support and propel the momentum of your leadership power.

So then the questions remain: will you step-up to the challenge, are you willing to awaken the great leader that slumbers inside you?

If so, you can be "made" into a leader of great promise. There are leadership training courses, workshops and programs available to all sizes of budget and ambition.

I believe you were born to bless the world with your God-given greatness. Please don't deny us the energy of your unique, meaningful and worthy contributions.

Copyright © 2003-2005, Mustard Seed Investments, Inc.,All rights reserved.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Bill Thomas is publisher of leadership skills trainingmaterials. courses & programs. "Your Leadership-UltraNet!" is the Web's only ULTRA-Performance Empowerment System That Shows You How-To Think-like, Act-like, Behave-like, Believe-like and then Manage-like a Creative, Confident, Persuasive, Highly Effective Leader, Each & Every Day!

http://www.leadership-toolkit.com/skills.html