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 Research shows that you can learn to lead and, if you make the effort, you can practise and polish your leadership skills through further development to near perfection.
Some potential leaders are placed in positions where they unwittingly learn to lead, for example being the firstborn in a family which some people mistakenly think is crucial to leadership.
Just accept that leaders are made, not just born. But remember there is one caveat - you have to want to lead.
Leadership must be learnt progressively
You must learn to lead progressively, starting with basic or transactional leadership, then progress through motivational and change leadership to strategic leadership.
Research with senior managers/leaders in engineering, the military and pharmaceuticals shows that senior managers failed when they did not learn leadership progressively - often resulting in an abrogation of responsibility to one level below their seniority and position. This is a coincidental support for the Peter Principle – which asserts that people are promoted to one level above that which they are competent to handle.
Leadership gurus would say it is because they did not practise leadership at the basic Level.
In this way, leadership is not different from other professional knowledge and skills you may require to perform your job. If you want to improve, you have to spend the time on it.
Can you learn to lead by copying great leaders?
Copying leaders doesn't work. There is no leadership blueprint you can select and mould to yourself.
Copious books are written on ‘great leaders’, which persuade you to buy on the hope that you will be able to extract the qualities and traits that made Churchill or Margaret Thatcher or Bill Clinton a leader.
It is seemingly easy to express what is observed in leaders.
But research shows conclusively that a person possessing and practising any or all of these qualities and traits will not necessarily be followed or recognised as a leader.
What's the best way to learn leadership?
Leadership is best learnt experientially - on the job and progressively. But that's a hard way to learn and carries risks: it might take too long and be too stressful, you can't afford to fail too often while learning, you might make costly mistakes, lose your job, jeopardise others jobs or even lives.
Do courses and books help? Unfortunately, research shows otherwise. Traditional classroom-based programmes have little sustained impact on leadership development. Even universities don't provide their own staff with relevant experience for leadership programmes, despite many academics being involved in leadership development and training. A major Defence Studies survey found that leadership books and training did not help one star appointees (brigadier level) understand leadership.
The Helmsmanship way to learn to lead
We believe that you can learn to lead with a practical leadership toolkit, containing:
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Sufficient core knowledge about leadership and being a leader
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A set of simple tools to apply as you learn
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An Aide Memoire to help you remember the key elements of leadership
Helmsmanship provides a way to learn without wasting time or making costly errors, giving you the confidence to learn to lead progressively in the worklplace.
Learning 'how to lead' can also be helped if you have a coach and/or mentor. |
