To define leadership is akin to holding onto a big blob of Jell-O. It’s not the easiest thing to do, but in its most basic definition, a leader does just that — leads.

Do you want to be a leader?  Do you have natural leadership skills?  Have you taken a leadership test and been pegged as a good leader — or perhaps a bad leader?

Even if you’re not a manager or supervisor at your job, you can still learn effective leadership skills and apply them throughout your life.  Your job, your family, your marriage, even your social activities call for the skills of a leader.

There are several types of leadership and many leadership theories.

Some experts say leadership attributes are innate, that we’re born with them. Others say they must be learned. Innate or not, leadership skills can be learned and improved all throughout life.

Trying to list all the qualities of good, motivational leadership will end up in a very long list, very quickly, but some of the top traits or skills that really define leadership are: integrity, dedication, giving credit where credit is due (magnanimity), humility, fairness, assertiveness, and being open to new ideas.

Young Leaders

Age knows no bounds for those who are led and for those who are leaders. You’ve seen leaders all your life. Back when you were growing up, playing in the neighborhood, a leader emerged from among your group of friends. Leaders emerge in school groups, in athletics, in peer groups. Leaders even rise up among siblings. Leaders are the ones other people follow.

An informal leader in the workplace might well be one of the lowest-level employees.  It’s not an official leadership role, but he or she may be a leader among their coworkers.

And certainly not all managers or supervisors are leaders, despite their defined leadership title of Team Leader, Shift Leader or whatever.

Define leadership

Leadership is one of those skills that gives back to you what you put into it. It is a growing and continually evolving skill, like a mountain you are climbing who’s peak is always just out of reach, you never really arrive.  There is always something you could do better, someone you could have done more for.

Leadership skills are something often looked for in every level of staff.  While contemplating the next promotion most managers don’t just look at tenure or skill, they look at the person who also is the problem solver, who makes a decision, who is confident in what they are doing, able to network and get others involved.

Leaders are also those who do things without asking, who make sacrifices without fanfare, who simply do what needs to be done.

Not all leaders are necessarily good people leaders.  Many times we promote someone because they show all the qualities we want a leader to have but maybe they haven’t been taught good leadership theories–the philosophy of managing, communicating, delegating, etc.  It’s not enough to be told you need to do something, it’s important to understand the mechanics of why.  If you don’t know that you can’t teach others and develop leaders under you.

Leadership is one of those areas of life in which continued learning is never a waste. Leadership training seminars are great for learning new techniques or as a refresher for that which you already know.  Most individuals can write off a few hundred dollars a year towards their own work related self improvement.  Check with your tax adviser.

Leadership training seminars are available for new and current managers, most training is done online and on the phone depending on the subject being covered.