Daily Leadership Thought #172 – Leadership Is A Learned Skill

Leadership may come naturally for a small few, but for most of us, it takes hard work.

We often read books and articles about natural-born leaders. They appear to be individuals who naturally fit into the role of leader and possess the inherent traits and characteristics necessary to perform the job effectively. It makes you think that some people are just born to be leaders. While this may be true, my experience suggests that even naturally gifted individuals must work at being effective leaders. In fact, some of the best leaders I’ve met didn’t have their role come easily to them. Instead, there were some formative learning experiences along the way that taught them tough lessons and pushed them to grow beyond their comfort zone.

Leadership is a skill that must be learned and honed accordingly. You cannot rely solely on your instincts, good looks, or charm. Yesterday’s knowledge often won’t solve tomorrow’s problems. You don’t need to be an expert in everything, but you should be competent in the most important areas. Leaders are typically generalists rather than subject matter experts. The following skill sets are critical if you want to be an effective leader:

• Industry Knowledge – This is self-explanatory and should be a no-brainer.
• Communication – You don’t need the talent and range of an actor, but you must be able to communicate clearly and modulate your style and approach to reach different audiences. You also must know how to truly listen to what the other person is saying.
• Conflict Management – Good leaders understand the importance of constructive conflict. They foster a culture that allows for disagreement but are skilled enough to know how to rein it in and keep it professional.
• Time Management – You either use your time well or you don’t, and never forget that time is your most precious commodity.
• Coaching/Mentoring – You are only ever as good as the performance of your direct reports, and they need your advice and counsel to be successful
• Team Building– All great companies are built on the backs of great teams. Individuals are much more effective and powerful when they are coordinated with one another and are operating in an environment that fosters mutual support and collaboration.
• Financial Acumen – In business, your model works, and you get the numbers right, or you don’t—it’s that simple.
• Strategic Thinking – Leaders steer the ship in the right direction and have an informed sense of the future.
• Business Development – You must know how to effectively position and sell your products or services to thrive in a competitive marketplace.
• Operational Efficiency and Effectiveness – Systems and processes must function properly for the organization to fulfill its customer promises.
• Strategic Partnering and Collaboration – The whole nature of business is changing in terms of how you view competition and market dynamics. It’s all about leverage, and you need to know how to structure and align your competencies and advantages with other companies, sometimes even competitors.

I advise my clients to think of themselves as always being in pursuit of an Executive MBA, where the teaching never ends, and they never fully achieve the degree. The history of business is littered with the failures of innately gifted and talented leaders who never realized their full potential because they were slow to adapt, didn’t work hard enough to improve, couldn’t think their way out of a problem, or thought they had all the answers.

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