Kick-Start Leadership Skills

6 Steps To Kick-start Leadership Skills

 Leadership development is the on-going in-thing within business circles. This is understandable because great leadership is often the sole factor great business success, Bill Gates and Sam Walton being two illustrative role models of what superior leadership can do for businesses. 

There are many training programs out there that emphasize leadership development and it may seem unclear for anybody. It can also get quite expensive if you're uncertain about what sort of program you're searching for. If you are part of a company that's scrunching pennies, then you will have to decide to make the initial investment in yourself.

Not to worry, leadership development can also be done on your own. Most programs give bang for their buck by providing additional services but, at its core, a leadership development program is all about self-improvement. All that is required for self-improvement is a willingness to change and a guide to get your beginning and what you need when you are working on your leadership skills is a plan. So, here's a few tips on starting your own leadership development plan:

1) Being Ambitious – Whenever you're starting something, it's always good to know what you're aiming for. A plan is like a roadmap and if you don't know your destination, then in all probability you'll end up getting lost on your way. The query is is what should your ambitions be? Try to select a target for your professional life – how you would like to end up and where do you want to be in a given period of time. Try to set a target for yourself that is both attainable and reasonable. Nothing discourages more than failing a plan. Be sure and consider your time table and what is truly possible given your circumstances.

2) Have A Reason – You probably have a driving factor for doing all of this. Remember that goals are not reasons; reasons are what drive you towards a target and not the goal itself. It can be difficult to distinguish the two but it is important to know precisely why you want something; is it personal pride or something more. Stupid reasons give you stupid objectives; reevaluate what objectives you have after you've determined what's driving you towards them. A key contributor to many leaders in their development process is learning to clearly see  where they are going on a daily basis and use their reason that drives them as a reminder. Take some time each day to focus in your head on what you need to achieve to reach the desired destination.

3) Assess Yourself And Identify What You Need To Change – Take a long hard look at yourself. What are your personality traits? What skills do you have? What personal weaknesses do you suffer with? It is very essential that you be honest with yourself in this part – that is why most leadership development programs have counselors to help you at this stage; they're not exactly necessary, but they help cut through all the excuses and justifications that you make for yourself. Look at your objectives and view yourself – what traits and skills can help you reach those goals? What weaknesses will restrict you? What do you need to do to change yourself to be able to reach your goals?

4) Give up to go up. Many of us have some type of limiting behavior that will with-hold us from getting more out of our time. Spot what may be holding you back and make a commitment to disengage in unproductive behavior. Yes, we all need to let go and relax our minds and enjoy life, but really judge if what you spend your time on is counter-productive and limiting you from achieving your 'reason'. Are the crowds you 'hang' with taking you from achieving what you really want?  Most importantly, find a balance.

5) It can be very beneficial to find some inexpensive resources that will help you stay focused and even motivated. There are a lot of helpful types of motivational resources that can aide in keeping your mind focused on what your choices need to be to be more productive.

6) Put The Plan In Action – Get off your derriere and do what needs to get done. I find it very advantageous to have an allotted time each day for certain activities. You will here it time and time again that, "Consistency is truly the key", to successful leadership development.

This may all may seem simple, but trust me, it is more than likely going to be the most challenging thing you've ever done. Leadership development is not a cakewalk but if you manage to do it, you'll be rewarded well finally.