Often, individuals with leadership qualities achieve success in everything – they listen to their opinion, they are always surrounded by attention, they are admired. Is it possible to become a leader, or can they only be born? As it turned out, with a strong desire, each person can become a leader, even if he never thought that such a reincarnation was possible. According to new research, leadership qualities can be developed. Learn how to develop your leadership skills in this article.
"A Natural Leader"
Natural leaders easily occupy leadership positions and feel completely comfortable in such an incarnation. However, the place of a leader can go not only to such persons, but to people who are not used to managing anyone. Such individuals often feel discomfort and anxiety, trying on a similar role because of the demands that they begin to make. Also, many believe that leadership – this is an exceptionally innate quality and we are sure that they simply cannot cope with leadership responsibilities.
But according to scientists, only 30% of leadership qualities are genetically determined. That is, they are quite amenable to development under only one condition – a person has a strong motivation. Only under the condition of hard work on oneself and a great desire is it possible to achieve results, because leadership skills need to be constantly trained and honed.
According to a recent study conducted at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, a 15-day leadership training course resulted in a marked improvement in the leadership abilities of participants in the experiment.
"Ready, I want, I can"
The training was based on a model called "Ready, I want, I can", with the help of which the level of motivation of students to become leaders was tested. The best results were shown by those new leaders who had a strong desire to develop their leadership skills.
If the newly minted managers are not "ready and willing" enough, they either ignore their role or choose "standard" game patterns, becoming authoritarian leaders. Such a strategy is erroneous, as it only hinders the development in a new role.
How to develop leadership qualities
The first step towards achieving such a goal – admit your unwillingness to lead at the moment. Only by realizing and recognizing this fact, it is possible to proceed to the next stage, at which there will be a "melting" of one's own fears into motivation to move on.
An integral part of becoming a leader is assessing your strengths and weaknesses.
In order to objectively evaluate yourself, you need to answer the following questions:
Question #1. What qualities do leaders have?
Question #2. Do I have these qualities?
Question #3. How is it possible to develop what I lack?
In order to help participants become true leaders, researchers at the University of Illinois encouraged them to focus on interaction with people, relationships, and communication. The scientists also emphasized that one of the main components of leadership qualities is flexibility.
In order to successfully master a new role, you need to reconsider the usual ways of communication and even self-identity. In addition, it is important not to forget about self-observation and self-evaluation in the early stages of developing leadership qualities, since it is possible to achieve the development of leadership qualities in oneself only by analyzing one's failures and successes.
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