Development of Leadership

Instilling the principles of strong leadership is easier said than done. True leadership does not mean barking commands or setting up mini-dictatorships, rather, it means setting an example that team members will want to follow, giving them a larger mission to which they'll want to contribute. It's all about inspiring passion. Most people respond very positively to true leadership, because it shows them the rewards waiting at the end of the race. For example, the following four-step training regimen is a valuable tool to help develop leadership:

Step 1: Identify the skills and abilities that are required for effective leadership in your organization. Think of the people who are considered successful leaders in your organization or profession, and those who have failed. Make a list of the characteristics of each, and focus on the differences between the good leaders and the failed leaders. Break this list down into values, skills and knowledge. This is your starting point.

Step 2: Provide the cognitive part of the puzzle-that which can be obtained through reading and study. All good leadership rests on a foundation of knowledge-knowledge about the job, knowledge of processes, and knowledge of people. Begin to build a reading list for yourself and your subordinates.

Step 3: Provide opportunities for potential leaders to practice what they have learned. This occurs in two different ways-first through your own modeling of the skills yourself and then supervising the attempts of the fledgling leader. These practice opportunities may be role-plays or structured activities that are initially part of the training program. But to get behavioral change in the workplace, practice must also take place in the actual work environment as soon as possible.

Step 4: Offer feedback and remediation. No one changes without sufficient data upon which to judge his or her progress. Specific feedback is critical. While trying to point out the gap between the ideal and observed behaviors, don't forget that praise is an excellent motivator and will speed the learning process. For those tasks that are not performed to the standard you expect, create remediation training.