Skillful Leadership: What Does It Take?

Leadership skills are essential in getting followers to commit

Which comes first? The leader or the follower? And what does skillful leadership require?

Whenever a group of people have a common goal, one or more leaders will emerge from the pack. As Napoleon said, a leader is someone who is a dealer in hope. It may be hope for more money, a better life, the end of an injustice - or even hope for revenge. Yet the leader must do more than simply offer hope. The leader must present a deal which rings true to the potential followers, something in which they believe they can trust. It must be a deal that inspires the followers to take actions the leader wants done because the followers believe they will realize their hopes.

What we start with, then, is an issue. Within a group, one or more people visualize potential solutions for that issue. Does the person who visualizes the best solution become the leader with his or her solution adopted? Often, the answer is “No.”

We frequently see people turn against a good solution because the presenter does not present a compelling message or the presenter is not someone with whom they are comfortable. Skillful leaders recognize these problems and arm themselves with the tools to handle the situations.

Skillful leaders recognize that leadership starts with a state of mind. They believe that conditions can change for the better. Skillful leaders also believe the group can be much more effective than its individuals at creating that change. In other words, the whole can be greater than the sum of its parts. These beliefs are evident in how the skillful leader presents to the group. Members of the group feel they are seeing the authentic person, who speaks with integrity on the issues and solution and in a way that will benefit a group larger just than himself.

Skillful leaders appreciate that leadership is a process. They know that the process ideally begins before a need for a leader emerges – and the process continues until after the solution is accepted by the group and implemented. At its simplest, the process consists of three actions: building rapport, delivering a compelling message and following through on the promise. The devil, of course, lies in the details, as you aren’t a leader if you don’t have followers – and it is very easy to lose followers along the way. That’s where having a large and varied leadership toolkit becomes important.

Skillful Leaders Hone Their Skills Constantly

Skillful leaders continually build on their existing skills and add new skills to their toolkit. That is what differentiates them from the masses of mere managers. They can lose a potential follower in less than a tenth of a second, but that they haven’t gained a new follower until their message has resonated personally for that person. People take in information and messages in different ways and hold different values. The skillful leader recognizes this and selectively uses many different leadership tools that are in tune with folks in his audience. Similarly, the skillful leader aligns the message to support the values of different followers, but only in ways that maintain his integrity and authenticity as a leader.

Leadership is a Process We can Learn

Leadership, then, is a state of mind and a process through which a large set of skills is used to positively influence a group to want to act in concert to achieve a common goal. It is not an innate talent possessed by a few lucky individuals. All of us can become adept in its tenets and practice. It simply requires commitment to being authentic and learning and practicing the leadership skills and process. Opportunities exist to use our leadership skills everyday and in many different ways, so we can help ourselves and others achieve important goals by committing ourselves to taking the path to enhancing our leadership skills.

Before there is leadership, then, there must be a group with an issue around which it may organize. The leader comes next, as the one who builds rapport with the group, creates a compelling message around the common issue and inspires the group members to follow a common path to reach their goal. Only then, do the followers emerge. Skillful leadership is mastering the skills of building rapport, creating and delivering a message around an issue and inspiring the group to act according to the message. Its something we all can learn.