| |
| |
|
Leadership Information |
|
|
|
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 to improve your ability to lead, where should you focus your attention? Why are certain leadership talents more important 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 focus your 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 your leadership skills be applied? - Will you lead a special or critical one-time project? - Will you lead others who directly report to you or are under your direct influence? - Will you lead people who are outside your sphere of control [such as, your clients, partners from other companies, or members of your community]? You must focus your attention on providing service through your leadership. To look at leadership in this light, you will need to know what types of leadership service are required: => 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 to yourself to investigate your talents honestly and deeply. Are you a strong communicator, do you usually think about or see things in a positive light, can you easily adapt yourself to deal with changes, are you flexible? Your strengths will empower your effectiveness and your weaknesses will betray you and disgust, disappoint or discourage others. The trick you need to turn is found in using your strengths to analyze and overcome your weaknesses. Let me explain myself - I have a fairly strong ability to react to and perceive the subtleties of my surroundings - but there are times 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 your authority to and share your power with someone who has a greater strength, more time or a stronger relationship than your 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 embark on prudent courses of action, with knowledge of your weaknesses you can defend the threats to your mission by developing alternative plans or assign tasks to other people. Once you have determined the state of your strengths, you can 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 training materials. 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
MORE RESOURCES:
Leadership - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
5 Steps on How to Set and Achieve Your Goals Which one is a goal? I will lose 15 pounds I want to run a marathon Quit smoking All of the above None of the above The correct answer is (5) - none of the above. The first three are wishes, not goals. The Code of the Conference Leader Are your meetings generally a waste of time? Do you have trouble getting commitment on the decisions made? The following information is based on "Conference Leadership", an atypical Marine Corps publication that is no longer available to the public (as it has been incorporated into a sensitive and restricted document.)The publication details a method of achieving results from groups and meetings that was far ahead of its time, originally published in 1947. BIG-3 Leadership! "Do what you do so well that they will want to see it again and bring their friends." - Walt DisneyWhat is your organization striving to achieve?- Big Profits? - Big Growth? - Big Stock Price? - Big Accolades/Recognition? - Some other Big Result?All of the above?Okay, just so we are clear - all of the above goals/outcomes are NOT bad things to experience. Leadership - Push vs. Pull? At your next staff meeting consider leading your team through the following discussion.This lesson is focused on getting people to think in terms of effective leadership. Building Self Confidence As a hypnotherapist I specialise in helping people to develop confidence and self esteem.Perhaps surprisingly, the people who ask for my help are not shrinking violets and their reasons for wanting to develop enhanced self confidence are not wholly selfish. Leadership For Deep Results: Without Them Are You Wasting Your Leadership And Your Life? (Part One) I've challenged all leaders I have worked with during the past two decades to achieve "more results faster continually."They can get on track to start achieving such results not by working harder and longer but by slowing down and using Leadership Talks on a daily basis. Business Leadership: How Much is in Your Credibility Bank Account? Business leaders have more than a title on their doors. They also have the trust and confidence of those who work for them; who work with them; and who buy from them. Introduction to the The Enneagram as a Leadership Tool The Enneagram is a fascinating tool of nine orientations that enables us to gain insight into the depths of our true potential. It seeks to provide insight into how we fund our foundation of assumptions so they work for us or they don't! (In some ways it provides a generic Owner's Manual to Life! That little book we all hoped came with us to provide insightful directions on how to employ us and treat us with care. It's Not All About Cheese: The Missing Component in Employee Development (Part 1) Spencer Johnson really hit a nerve when he wrote Who Moved My Cheese? The book, a best seller still, is a wonderful allegory of the things that drive and motivate us. I personally loved the book, perhaps because I read it in one night. Characteristics of a Good Leader It's interesting to hear the responses from executives when I ask them, "What are the characteristics of a good Leader?"If I ask that question in a large room of executives, or even upper level managers the answers will be all over the map, and many are conflicting.A couple of the usual answers are: A leader is someone that empowers those working for him to make their own decisions. A Leader's Ultimate Goal - Connect to Engage! Connect and Engage! Your People Are Your Power.It's been said many times that true leadership is measured by ones ability to motivate and influence others. 3 Elements of Leadership Power! In an article discussing the need for innovative products and profitable service offerings, Vinutha V., points out that, "improvements are only the expected results, not the source of competitive advantage. Secrets of Creating Success with Ease Do you ever strum your fingers on the desk top as you look down at your work and think, 'Right, how can I do all this lot without really working?'Brought up in an era with a cliché that went: 'You must work hard for a living' my attitude to work conflicted with what I'd learned from my elders and peers. I felt 'wrong' because I wanted to be lazy. Effective Listening Equals Effective Leadership: Learn How! No matter what role you play in your company, becoming a more effective listener will help you get ahead in your position. It means fewer errors, improved accuracy, and enhanced working relationships. Partnership: Choose It or Lose It Charlotte decides to do good. Charlotte is a highly motivated worker. Five Steps Towards Greater Self Confidence We watch the star athlete calmly make the final shot, score the winning goal, or lead his team for a touchdown in the final minute of the game. We marvel at their talent and their determination, but what we value and admire most is the supreme confidence they display - they know they will succeed. To be, or Not to be (Average)? When is hate OK? When it's the feeling you have toward average. Let me make this point clearly and without reservation. Leadership - Passion, Purpose, Profit - Its Not That Hard Go to any educational institution, look at airport bookshelves, shopping centres and open your eyes to the myriad of products available today and you could be forgiven to thinking that the art of leadership was beyond mere mortals.After many years in corporate life before starting my own business I finally got the chance to prove for myself what I had always beleived - leadership is simple, it is being a person who has passion, purpose and who uses that to bring others with them on the journey and reaps the rewards. The Happy Jar I just delivered a free speech. I am a great believer in free speech, but an even greater believer in paid speech. It Begins Like This Jonathan was drunk multiple times before ever completing elementary school; his father fed him bourbon so Jonathan would resist less while being sexually molested. On the night his mother was released from jail, Jonathan rode eagerly by his father's side to pick her up.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
