The ability to lead effectively is based on a number of key skills.  These skills are highly sought after by employers as they involve dealing with people in such a way as to motivate, enthuse and build respect. Ideally a leader wants people to follow them because of the trust and respect they have earned – not because they are told to.  Leadership roles are all around us, not just in a work environment, and although these pages focus on leadership skills from the perspective of working in an organisation, the skills can be applied to any situation where you are required to take the lead.

People with vested interests in the subject of leadership (academics and those offering leadership training or literature of some sort) are convinced that leadership skills can be taught.  Many successful leaders however have never had any formal training; for them it is a state of mind, their personalities and personas that make them successful leaders.  You can of course learn about effective leadership skills and practices but being able to implement them yourself may require an altogether different set of skills and attitudes.  The question “Can leadership be taught?” has no simple answer and we do not want to argue for one side or the other, but rather keep an open mind on the subject and provide information about the skills good leaders need.

Perhaps the most important skill a leader needs is to be able to make decisions; leadership is all about having a vision of where you want to be and making decisions along the way to get closer to achieving this vision.  Decision-making in leadership however involves other people as leaders need followers, so the decision-making process will usually have an impact on your team of followers.  With this in mind, a good leader also needs strong ‘people skills' since a leader needs to be able to communicate the vision and motivate the team to follow.

Along the way to achieving the vision the leader will come upon many problems, hence problem solving is therefore another key leadership skill.  Problems come in all shapes and sizes, from those related to the people in your team when mediation skills may be needed, to those of a more strategic nature and everything in between.  A good leader will not be afraid of problems and, with trust and respect, followers will not be afraid to discuss problems or potential problems. With a positive attitude, problems can become opportunities and learning experiences.  A leader’s biggest asset is information as the more information a leader possesses about the how to achieve the vision or individual goals along the way, the more the leader learns about the direction needed to get there.  Problems provide information and therefore good problem solving is a very powerful skill for the leader.

As with anything in life, things do not always go according to plan and leadership is no exception. The direction a leader takes in order to realise their vision is likely to change.  Strong leaders embrace change and can adapt quickly and efficiently to new situations since they learn to balance opportunity and risk while being aware of their (and their team’s) strengths and weaknesses.

A leader also needs to be a strong facilitator - that is providing the support necessary for the team to achieve their goals.  Support may be as simple as words of encouragement or a specific tool needed to perform a task.  By listening to team-members, a leader can often learn about the barriers preventing a goal from being achieved and, through facilitation, find a way to an appropriate solution.

A common mistake of a leader is to try to do everything themselves.  A good leader will delegate responsibility to team members and, with the help of motivation and facilitation, aim to enable success.  Delegation also allows the leader to learn more about the strengths and weaknesses of the team members and therefore make better informed decisions about individual roles and responsibilities.