There are lots of workshops and books that will provide lists of activities, skills, and characteristics that are considered to be part of good leadership. They will have you complete various exercises that help you become aware of different kinds of personality types, leadership styles, etc. Such activities make for fun workshops for sure. While much of this is useful knowledge to have, it does not necessarily bring about change in people's leadership effectiveness. I say this because of the basic and well-known fact in psychology that knowledge itself rarely changes human behaviour. If it did, we would not eat as much salt, sugar, and fat, we would never smoke and very rarely and moderately drink alcohol, we would not text and drive, and reading a book would make us all great at being leaders. Clearly there is more to it than that.
Leadership is a way of being. I know that sounds pretty abstract and esoteric, but what it means is that leadership is about becoming a leader in character, integrity, attitude, cognition, emotion, and of course skill. It is about transforming the kind of person you are, and becoming the kind of individual whom people will gladly and enthusiastically follow toward a vision. That is more than just a skill set, and is certainly not reliant on knowledge. Managing a budget, supervising staff, making adjustments to services or products, building strategic plans, shifting priorities to do more or less of one thing...those are merely skill sets. But people don't follow someone toward a vision because s/he is great at doing those things. They also don't follow you because you know your colour is blue, you're an information gatherer, or you are aware of your Myers Briggs profile from a workshop you attended. They follow because of who you are. They follow because of the intangible things that make you a leader, regardless of your position or title, and sometimes regardless of some of the important skill sets.
I have known many people in leadership positions who have had all the management skills in the world. They can run a tight ship, and speak the language of leadership, quality improvement, planning, etc., but who just do not inspire people to want to follow. What's missing is not necessarily the so-called leadership skill set. What's missing is the way of being a leader. The character of the person, the level of trust they naturally both earn and give, their style of communicating and relationship-building, the genuineness and sometimes selflessness of their commitment to the vision, their air of calmness and humble confidence, their certainty about the vision but constant openness about needing input and collaboration on how to get there. These are just a few examples demonstrating that leadership is a way of being, not just a skill set.
Interested in training to bring you and your leadership team to a place of being exceptional leaders? Look beyond the simple education and lists of skill sets. Look beyond teaching your people to do leadership activities. Instead train your team members to be leaders.
