This informal CPD article ‘Leadership Fundamentals: From Self-Awareness to Team Impact’ was provided by London Optimum Training & Consultancy (LOTC), a UK-based training and consultancy provider committed to professional development and organisational performance.
Leadership is the ability to create an environment where everyone knows exactly what contribution is expected and they feel totally committed to doing a terrific job. Leadership is a vital skill for all successful managers to learn and practice regularly.
When you take up a leadership role, you will be expected to face multiple tasks. From meeting goals through to developing new ideas, to making sure your team follows you and your organisation’s vision and values. If you thrive on thinking creatively, inspiring and guiding people, experimenting with different approaches and making intuitive decisions, you are on the way to being a leader. Yet, truly accomplished leaders also possess sound analytical thinking and problem-solving skills (1).
The skills of leadership
Leaders are made rather than born (2). While a real desire to lead is vital for leadership, the skills you need to lead can be learnt. Leadership has many aspects and no simple definition. It is the ability to inspire and encourage others to overcome challenges, accept continuous change, and achieve goals and aims. It is the capability to build strong, effective teams, and it is the process of using your influence to persuade and guide. Leaders set a strong example through their own lives. They achieve results, but also take responsibility for failures (3).
The difference between leadership and management
Leadership is different from management. A leader is someone who makes decisions and communicates effectively, while a manager implements strategies, measure performance and runs systems. You may aspire to be called a leader rather than a manager. Being a leader can seem exciting, while being a manager is more mundane. It is interesting to note that of course, like most stereotypes, the statements above contain some truth, but sound management requires some leadership and great leaders are good managers (4). When you move into a leadership role, you can’t abandon managing altogether. To be credible as leader, you need to acknowledge the past and at the same time focus on the future.
Being an effective leader
The job of a leader is to give others a sense of purpose and self-worth. This is impossible to do with any conviction if you do not understand your own strengths and weaknesses, or if you are uncertain about the direction in which you want to take your professional and personal life. Improving self-awareness is a key role of growing into a more effective leader and becoming alert to the effects that you are having on others (5).
People respect leaders who embrace strong values and take responsibility for their own choices in life. To demonstrate this internal strength, you need to be seen to lead by example (3). Show your team that you have the confidence and clarity to take risks, that you can persist through difficult times, and that you are prepared to keep on learning, adapting, and creating new business opportunities.
As a business leader, you will be expected to set out the values of an organisation and provide its stakeholders with an emotionally appealing and achievable vision of the future. Clear, thoughtful communication at every level is needed in order to develop this vision and translate it into business success.
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REFERENCES
(1) Zaccaro, S. J. (2007). Trait-based perspectives of leadership. American Psychologist, 62(1), 6–16.
(2) Kirkpatrick, S. A., & Locke, E. A. (1991). Leadership: Do traits matter? Academy of Management Executive, 5(2), 48–60.
(3) Kouzes, J. M., & Posner, B. Z. (2017). The Leadership Challenge: How to Make Extraordinary Things Happen in Organizations (6th ed.). Wiley.
(4) Kotter, J. P. (1990). A Force For Change: How Leadership Differs From Management. Free Press.
(5) Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. Bantam Books.
