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What is a leader? In its simplest form, a leader is someone who leads others – he (or she) may be a community leader, a political leader, a leader in the work place – there are all types of leaders, and that’s where it can get confusing. A leader is not necessarily someone who is in charge, although the best leaders have an air of authority that sits naturally on their shoulders. A leader is, first and foremost, an inspiration to those he leads. You can be inspiring without having formal qualifications, but all the qualifications in the world won’t make you an inspiration to others. A leader is a motivator, and the best leaders can encourage their teams to step out of their comfort zone to produce outstanding results on a consistent basis.
If all this sounds complicated, that’s because it is. It’s very difficult to define leadership, although you will know it when you see it. So, can anyone be a leader? Yes and no. Some people are born leaders, but leaders can be made too, and that is the aim of this book – to make you a leader, whatever your professional qualifications, life experiences or personality traits. The skills you need to be an effective leader can be learned, as long as you have the motivation to learn them and the wish to inspire others to perform to their best capabilities.
Good leadership starts with confidence – if you don’t have confidence in yourself, you can hardly expect others to have confidence in you or in your abilities to lead the team. Then you need to channel this confidence into influencing others so they are happy to follow your lead. For this, you’ll need excellent communication skills, and the ability to coach your followers so that they achieve what you expect of them. Leadership is not about issuing orders, it’s about leading by example.
To be a good leader, you have to be someone worth following – someone others are happy to follow. That means you need to cultivate certain leadership skills, then channel them appropriately. This book will help you to build on the leadership skills you already have, and develop the ones you will need. You’ll learn about the value of communication, coaching and leading by example. You will learn to listen as well as talk, to use encouragement rather than sanctions to get results, and to identify problems as they arise and deal with them without affecting productivity or denting morale.
The skills you will learn here will help you to stand out as a leader in any situation you find yourself in, whether it’s professional, personal or anything else at all. You can become a leader wherever you are, whatever your situation. Just follow the advice in this book, and get ready to be a leader!
