Leadership Skills
Positive leaders leave a lasting impression on the members of their team. They are notable for their strength of character and integrity, and have a variety of qualities, all of which can be developed and strengthened, and which encourage participation, honesty, and empathy in other individuals. Positive leaders foster feelings of support and safety and have the greatest success maintaining energy and high morale in their teams.
Positive leaders often have these qualities:
- Kindness: they are patient with others, and refrain from saying negative things about others. They steer clear of gossip, and are able to tell people truth in a way that does not make the recipient feel attacked or undervalued.
- Integrity: at its heart, integrity is a one-to-one ratio between what you say you will do, and what you actually do. Leaders who follow through consistently on what they say they will do, and who keep their promises to their constituents, are seen as having integrity. These leaders are viewed as trustworthy individuals whom team members can rely on.
- Objectivity: leaders with objectivity give good feedback to their team members. They are capable of distinguishing between a person and a person’s actions, and when responding to situations they address the behaviour involved rather than making their critiques personal. Think “this could have been better,” rather than “you could be better.”
- Initiative: rather than waiting for something to happen, positive leaders are the ones making change. Whether it’s proposing an idea or giving others the support they need to turn their own ideas into reality, positive leaders are action-oriented. They also often see potential problem areas and work to address those areas before they become real issues.
- Forgiveness: sometimes things go wrong or others don’t live up to your expectations. The important thing is not to dwell on these moments, and instead keep moving forward. Positive leaders recognize that everyone deserves a chance to learn from their mistakes, and work actively to provide those chances.).
- Delegation: Delegation can be key to making your members feel needed and as though they have invested their time wisely. A good leader understands they cannot do everything themselves, and learns how to involve others.
Watch the first 3 minutes of this video. Leadership, followers and movements.
Developing leadership skills is a vital part of your overall development. It is part of your education. The skills you learn here are just like any other: you have to work on them, reflect, apply and continue to improve. They will make you a better student, a better sportsperson, performer, business leader etc etc. Crucially they will help you to develop your best version of you. Therefore we have developed a programme that will set you off on your own leadership journey. There are courses, videos, articles, podcasts and much more. Dip in and out, be curious and open to new challenging ideas. Don't think of leadership as having to be a "captain" or "the most important person". It isn't that at all. As the above video demonstrates so well, leadership isn't about being the sole "leader", it's about developing the skills to bring people together to deliver common goals.
The best leaders and the most effective leadership is not always what you expect.
How to approach this material
Essentially, there are two ways to work through this set of resources and ideas:
1. Dip in and out and read/watch for interest.
2. Go a little more focused and create a Leadership Portfolio. All that really means is take some notes, copy and save some ideas/clips and build up a bank of resources/ideas/lessons that you can keep learning from in the future.
We would highly recommend the second approach but it is entirely up to you.
Now, let us begin...
Leadership Idea 1: Why not Take a free leadership course? This is quite a full on way to start but these are both good, free courses:
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/fundamentals-of-leadership-theory
Leadership Idea 2: Why not listen to some podcasts? If a course is a little too much for you and you want to focus on broadening your leadership knowledge, then there are lots of excellent podcasts out there. Try these for starters:
HBR IdeaCast https://hbr.org/2018/01/podcast-ideacast - Assured by the integrity and credibility of its producer, the Harvard Business Review, this is an innovative offering guided by Bloomberg editor Sarah Green Carmichael. Carmichael sits down with her fair share of executives and politicians, but the real appeal lies in the diverse stories and thoughts of numerous scientists, professors and other innovators. HBR Ideacast episodes only last for half an hour, too, making it perfect for short listens.
Leadership and Loyalty, hosted by Dov Baron https://shows.acast.com/dovbaron/ - Aimed at "Fortune 500 executives, family businesses, human resources professionals, and the Millennial generation," Leadership and Loyalty advocates an authentic form of leadership based on emotional intelligence and fearless honesty. Baron interviews authors, consultants, and leaders from all types of organizations on the kind of leadership that inspires fierce loyalty.
Dose of Leadership, hosted by Richard Rierson https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/dose-leadership-richard-rierson-authentic-courageous/id595566999. - Known as a unique and engaging interviewer, Rierson brings in guests that include NFL coaches, entrepreneurs, CEOs, investors, and authors. A special "best of" section provides highlights from his four years of archives.
Leadership Biz Cafe, hosted by Tanveer Naseer https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/leadership-biz-cafe-with-tanveer-naseer/id600135921. -This podcast feels like you're sitting down for a cup of coffee with two leadership experts to learn about how to become that leader our employees need us to be. This show will teach you how to be the best leader you can be.
The Jocko Podcast https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/jocko-podcast/id1070322219 - Excellent leadership doesn't only exist in the business world, of course. Therefore, for a different take on the subject, consider this, the brainchild of decorated Navy SEAL veteran John "Jocko" Willink. Willink has a straightforward way of examining issues that may not appeal to everyone, but, ultimately, there is a well-reasoned leadership analysis present and an ability to conduct intriguing interviews with his guests. The Iraq War veteran also has a credible business background to fall back on, too; as well as collaborations with the likes of Tim Ferriss and Joe Rogan, Willink owns an MMA gym in California and a successful management consultancy firm in Washington.
The LEADx Leadership Show https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-leadx-leadership-show-with-kevin-kruse/id1210859152 - A best-selling author and history professor at Princeton University, Kevin Kruse also dedicates his time and expertise to his own leadership podcast. In each episode, Kruse seeks out numerous industry leaders and finds out what they do every day to make their organisation better. The LEADx Show clocks in at about twenty minutes per episode, but each instalment plays as a one-on-one meeting with a new mentor. This approach is compounded by the shows daily sign off, which challenges you to take one idea from that day's discussion, and implement it into your workflow.
Leadership Idea 3: Why not watch these reviews of, or discussions about, some award winning leadership books? If you like the sound of them, why not get hold of a copy and enjoy a good read.
The Captain Class by Sam Walker
Legacy by James Kerr
Start With Why by Simon Sinek
A summary of The Culture Code by Daniel Coyle
The Art of War by Sun Tzu
The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey
Leadership Idea 4: Why not immerse yourself in the world of TED talks? There are so many amazing talks spanning the worlds of technology, creativity, leadership, education and much more. Here are a few of our favourites but do go to https://www.ted.com/talks to find so much more.
Leadership Idea 5: Why not learn some lessons from the British Army? The British Army runs The Centre for Army Leadership and publish many short articles reflecting on different areas of leadership in the Armed Forces. Here is Leadership Insight 3: 'What the hell do we do now, sir?':
Intelligent Disobedience by Ira Chaleff at the Centre for Army Leadership
Mr Ira Chaleff is one of the leading thinkers on followership. In this video he talks about intelligent disobedience: The critical skill for mission success and upholding military reputation. He explains why followers must be allowed to speak up to their leader and how a leader creates an environment where they allow followers to be disobedient if it's the right thing to do. He discusses when to be intelligently disobedient, how to avoid doing it unintelligently, and gives a check list for followers to follow when they think they need to intervene.
And here is a short overview of the Army Leadership Code:
Leadership Idea 6: why not learn from sport? Here are a selection of insights from the world of sport:
Leadership Idea 7: Why not just mix it up? Here are ideas from across the spectrum. Soak them up.
Leadership idea 8: Why not (not!) learn from The Office (UK and US).
This is hopefully just the beginning of your leadership journey. Don't stop here. Use these videos, websites and courses as a beginning and remember: leadership is not a position... it's a way of developing you and those around you. It's not a thing but a way of being. #LEAD
To end, aim for as many lollipop moments as you can:
#LEADERSHIP
Mr Hughes and Miss Powell