About Leadership Skills
Is a leader born or nurtured? Many great leaders have inherent leadership skills. However, other leaders’ skills are acquired and developed. Whichever way, leadership skills are important because these would enable a leader to steer his group to the right direction towards achieving its goals. Here are some essential skills that a leader should possess for him to lead effectively.
A Good Example
A leader should make both his or her private and public lives transparent. This is because leadership means being a property of a group or organization hence the examples he or she shows in public and in private can greatly influence her or his peers and those persons who are under him or her. Keeping their private and public lives open means that they're not doing anything which could be detrimental to his reputation and the organization he represents.
Understanding
A leader should do everything to understand the group, its strengths as well as its weak points. During group activities which he or she could initiate, then discover not only the group’s needs but also his or her own needs. In so doing, she or he learns to know how to cope and find the answer to any challenges ahead of them.
The Guide
Part of being a leader, is learning to face various problems. To address these problems, one should be a good communicator. Encouraging members to express themselves will help a leader to see the situation clearly and thus be able to give the right advice and suggestions to his group.
Shared Responsibility
Like the people a leader leads, a leader is also prone to fatigue and stress. Sharing responsibilities with members is an effective leadership skill. We should involve members with solving problems and making decisions, as often as possible. This leads to better coordination between the whole group, and less stress on the leader alone. A mature leader who encourages group participation is always preferred by members over an authoritarian and overly controlling boss.
Daily Engagement
A manager should not only be able to plan ahead, but also be involved in the daily operations of the organization. By participating in the daily tasks, she can determine better the present needs of her organization. This way, a present difficulty is given the proper solution before it affects not only the present but future operations of the organization.
