Leadership skills and Leadership Style

Developing Leadership Skills and Learning a Leadership Style Leadership is said to be an inborn talent and a gift which helps a leader do wonders. We have in front of us examples of leaders like Martin Luther King, M. Ali Jinnah and Nelson Mandela; each individual however had a different style of leadership and had managed to inspire millions of followers. We must keep in mind that leadership comes in different forms and has different styles. Each one of the glorified leaders mentioned above has a different personality and a different way of leading, but despite all that, there were a few things they all had in common.

All of them had positive attitudes, were problem solvers, had exemplary speaking skills and similarly they all had the willingness to lead from the front; these factors combined, made them who they were.

This interesting fact brings to life a hypothesis that leaders are not only born, but they can also be trained; all of the above mentioned traits can be practically taught to people.

Individuals looking to become effective leaders can attend formal training sessions to bring out the best in them, and not only that, they can start practicing by identifying their strengths as a leader when faced with challenges in life; especially if the individual is in a position of inspiring a group of people, even if they are just family or friends. Although leadership comes naturally, but remember it can also be learned and controlled.

Leaders are often expected to be compassionate and are expected to have a certain level of empathy.

This is something which one can learn with time and through adequate interaction with people. Similarly other inspiring leadership traits like positive attitude and persistence can be learned with experience, and of course with some help from peers. It is important for a leader to have these skills or else, he would not be able to fulfill the desired purpose nor nor would he be percieved as an able leader by others.

We also have in front of us leadership modules and frameworks which make the job easier for the individual while leading a team or group of people. For instance, talking in organizational perspective, Lewin’s popular leadership styles, Autocratic, Democratic and Laissez-faire have been widely taught as part of the academic curriculum of management studies. These three styles allow an individual to select the practices which will best suit his leadership capabilities and temperament. “Transformational leadership theory” and “Specific leadership theory” have shown positive effect on a leader’s performance and allow him to make the most of his circumstances.

It can be said without a doubt that one can easily adapt to different leadership roles and can be an entirely different leader at different times. The road towards success has a lot of hurdles but one must remember that persistent effort, determination, a bit of luck and a lot of heart is the key to success.

Reference: http://www.researchomatic.com/Leadership-Style-4233.html