Leadership Skills

 

Leadership skillsLeadership skills are increasingly becoming a focus of attention.  For example a UK Government report highlighted: “Nearly three quarters of organisations in England reported a deficit of management and leadership skills in 2012.” Not only is there a need for leaderhip skills, there is also concern that leadership skill development is not recognised sufficiently in organisations, and that it isn’t clear what actual skills are needed. There is:

  • a perception that leadership and management skills are something you “pick up” on the job;
  • Lack of clarity about the specific leadership and management skills and behaviours managers need to display

It appears that leadership skills are again at a premium, they are in demand, but there is a lack of clarity about what skills matter and how best to develop them.

3 perspectives of leadership skills

With these issues in mind this section of “Defining Leadership” will explore leadership skills from three perspectives:

  1. The importance of leadership skills – why they matter
  2. How to develop your skills and
  3. Which skills matter and in what contexts they matter.

 

There are a wide range of skills that can be important to you as a leader. So we will also consider skills in relation to level, starting with essential skills and then considering more advanced skills that are associated with what you might call “skillful leadership”. We will also consider skills in relation to leadership style. Different leadership styles will require different leadership skills.

There are many skills which you could argue are leadership skills, and to a large extent the the skills you consider to be important for leadership will depend on, or be influenced by how you define leadership. Therefore, a good place to start thinking about your own leadership skills may well be to think about how leadership is defined. You will find a comprehensive range of resources throughout the site all designed to help develop your skills.

Good leadership skills - Uncommon Leadership modelSkills that matter: Good Leadership Skills.

Good leadership skills often seem to be in short supply. And they really matter: sought after by business and too often missing in practice. How can you build these uncommon leadership skills that matter into your practice?