You've heard the expression "He/She is a born leader." Are all leaders born? Or can leadership be learned?
This Factsheet takes a close look at the concept of leadership. It will give leaders who volunteered, were elected or appointed, a number of guidelines to help them effectively lead their groups.
Because effective leadership is so important, many in the business world are now quantifying the cost of ineffective leadership. For example, DDI, a leading researcher in the corporate world, has created a Cost of Poor Leadership Calculator.
Good listeners are made, not born. Your skills will improve with practice and, with effort, you can become an exceptional listener. To assess your listening skills, ask yourself these five questions:
As a good listener, you should listen at least twice as much as you talk. However, what you have to say is also important. It can help you to listen well, or it can act as a roadblock to better listening.
Three particular types of speech act as roadblocks to effective listening:
| Distractions | Internal distractions arise from your own mind or body External distractions arise from your surroundings or from other people |
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Becoming a successful manager is not an easy task. It is not only a matter of making the right decisions for your company, but you need to be a good leader. This means that you need to know how to encounter and handle various problems.
Knowledge is necessary but more important is a good vision on the future of your company and the ability to create a good working team. The most important qualities that a successful manager needs are:
*Planning
When your career takes a turn towards a management track, you may begin to wonder what, exactly, makes a "good" manager.
The answer to this question is complex. It's not just one thing or one factor that will make you an effective manager. Rather, it is a combination of traits and behaviors. Some people are born with the innate talent of leadership, but anyone can learn how to succeed in a management career.
It's a myth that managers have more freedom to achieve results as they wish. In fact, organizational interdependencies limit the freedom managers have to make decisions and take action independently.
Instead, managers must work to achieve results within the context of their organization and the broader business environment. The implications of this interdependence are generally understood as demands and constraints on what a manager is free to do.
The power gained by moving up in the organizational hierarchy isn't enough to get results. In reality, establishing and maintaining credibility is how you'll get results.
Power does come with your position. And, as a manager, you will have more formal authority, a higher status within your organization, and greater access to resources than you did as an individual contributor.