Life Skills How to develop leadership skills

Leader or follower? Your first thought

‘Are you a leader or a follower?’ is a classic interview question.

Five signs of a reluctant leader

Read the two blog posts and decide which of these signs Lily and Dylan showed.

• FIVE SIGNS YOU’RE A RELUCTANT LEADER

1. You find it a bit embarrassing to be in the limelight.
2. People often come to you for advice, but it always surprises you when they do.
3. You can think of a lot of people who’d be better at being a leader than you would.
4. People who like leading others aren’t the kind of people you tend to get on with.
5. You are really good at thinking of excuses as to why you can’t take a leadership role.

Lily: an accidental leader

An accidental leader

Dylan: out of the back seat

Out of the back seat

Listening: would Mariam agree or disagree?

Leadership skills are only important when you reach management-level positions at work.

Some people aren’t really cut out to be leaders.

Teamwork is important in companies these days.

People who are reluctant to lead are generally not very effective in that role.

A lot of people have a fairly stereotypical idea of what makes a good manager.

If you are a good follower, you’re unlikely to make a good leader.

The advice box: fill the gaps

Even if you don’t think you have a 1 _ to be a leader, or you can’t 2 yourself in that role, give it a go – you may surprise yourself. Learn about well-known leaders and study which of their 3 __ made them good leaders.

Think about people around you who are leaders – observe them and analyse how they are able to 4 ___ people over and why people listen to them.

Learn about different leadership 5 ___ and try to identify your own.

If there is an opportunity to 6 _ up and lead, don’t 7 _ away from it, but try to take it on with enthusiasm and think about how much you can learn from this experience.

Pair work and project: a leader you admire

• Prepare a short presentation about a well-known leader.

• Choose someone you personally admire.
• In what ways is/was this person an effective leader?
• What do/did they (or others led by them) achieve?

Project: finish with why you chose them

• How would you describe this person’s leadership style?
• How do/did other people feel about them?
• Are there any ways in which this person could perhaps have been a better leader? Say why.
• Finish by explaining why you chose this person and how you think they might influence your own leadership style in the future.