Friday, May 1, 2009

Becoming a Better Leader

By Bart Icles

People say that leaders are born, not made. Yes, there are people born with leadership potentials but this not analogous to becoming a good leader.

We have known great leaders over the course of history and we often refer to them as leadership archetypes. However, good leaders do not necessarily conform to a certain leadership template. Leadership comes in various sizes, shapes, and colors.

As leaders try to improve their leadership potential, their picture or other people's picture of what a good leader is sometimes comes in the way and oftentimes becomes a roadblock. We tend to forget that there is no such pattern from which leaders are cut out of. One must understand his role as a leader. Once he has a solid idea of why he is tasked to lead the pack, he must have the will and determination to improve his aptitude for leading.

One can say that leadership is one of the most subjective ideas in the planet. A leader can be viewed in a lot of different ways. A leader might think he is doing well in directing his people and some of his people might think he is indeed doing a good job. Others may think he still needs to work on becoming a good leader. And there are even some who would think he is a total failure. Whatever the case is, certain improvements must be made on leadership to keep a leader from becoming stagnant.

Leadership must be continuously developed. This requires to leaders to never stop learning. Most organizations consider leadership training programs as investments as these help their leaders improve their skills. Improved leadership skills can have a significant impact on the success of the organization. Leadership is always moving forward. Good leaders do not say they cannot do things. Good leaders do not allow themselves to get stuck when they bump into a obstacle.

When thinking of leadership development, you must remember that you cannot send someone to leadership trainings unless that person is willing to be there. In the same manner, you cannot expect someone to immediately become a leader just because you have sent him to a leadership boot camp. Sending someone to a leadership training program to be taught leadership skills can be a waste of time and effort, but sending someone to a leadership training program to develop his innate leadership skills would surely help. Everyone can improve their aptitude and ability to lead, but we cannot teach someone how to become a leader when he does not want to become one.

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