Leadership is one of the most talked about and least understood aspects of human behavior. There must be hundreds of definitions of leadership, yet none of them is useful for success in life because none of them allows you to 'create' leadership from within your life.
Why is that? Why isn't leadership one of those things you can go to school to learn, pick up through experience, or work on yourself to develop?
To answer this important - life-changing - question, the first thing you need to understand are the false assumptions - the myths - about leadership. Then you'll come to realize that leadership is one of those things you can go to school to learn...
...if there was school that knew how to teach it.
You can pick it up through experience...
...if you know what leadership is and, as importantly, what it isn't.
You can work on yourself to develop it...
...but you need to know what to work on.
The first barrier to developing leadership is breaking through the false assumptions we have come to accept without questioning. You may not believe all the assumptions listed below but it's a good bet you believe some of them. Yet, they're all false.
Leadership consists of a set of skills that can be identified and learned. It's true that some people have a greater aptitude for leadership but all of us can be leaders and can build our leadership skills.
We'd all like to be charismatic and stylish, and many leaders are just that. But leadership is substance, not style. Leadership has to do with what we do and the impact we have on others. There have been great leaders who were dull as dust and others who have been charismatic. In our own time Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft, is dull, "nerdy," and as uncharismatic as one can get, yet look at what he's led others to do and the impact he's had on Today's world.
Not only is leadership - true leadership - structured and systematic, it can be duplicated again and again. Students in the Mastery Leadership program learn how to do this during the course of their study. Leadership has principles, skills that can be learned, and specific ways to get results. All those things are the building blocks of the successful accomplishment of goals, managing the aspects of our lives, and creating a life worth living. And if you can systemize it, you can duplicate it.
Believe it - leadership can be built into your life as a workable, predictable system.
In fact it's the exact opposite that is so often true. In the best businesses, families, schools, and groups, anyone in the group can exhibit leadership. Leadership should be encouraged at every level of the organization (with a few rules of behavior to prevent conflict and confusion).
If you believe any or all of these myths, you'll need to revise your beliefs or you'll never build true leadership into your life.
Leadership is nothing more than a core set of skills that can be learned. There are five of them:
You'll learn about them and how to develop them in yourself and others as you progress through the Mastery Leadership program's Mastery Keys for the Emerging Leader. At the same time, you will be able to assess your own leadership capabilities and of those you associate with, and devise a leadership development program for enhancing your skill level.
Contrary to popular belief, there's nothing mysterious about leadership. Once you know its core skills and specific systems, it becomes a straightforward personal development task, just like any other system in your life.
Like many other seemingly mysterious things, once you know the secrets of duplicable leadership, you'll want to say, "How simple! Why didn't I see it sooner?"
Leadership is probably the single-most important aspect of your life and ability to produce the results you want.
It's leadership that figures out what you need to do to enhance your life and give it the power, thrust and momentum it needs.
And it's leadership that determines how to do it.
Then it's leadership that makes sure it gets done.
Without leadership, life is aimless, purposeless, random, ineffective, and - no exaggeration...
...terminally ill.
With effective leadership, your life will thrive, you will navigate through any storm, and surpass every goal you ever set for yourself.
Leadership is the cornerstone of the warrior's ability to create the life worth living and developing the skills necessary for protecting that life from anything that would threaten it. And so it is also the cornerstone of the Warrior Concepts Life Mastery Program. Here at WCI, just like every other solid, educational institution, we create leaders - not just in the martial arts, but at home, school or work, and in the community.
We create the light that will cause others to engage in our vision with us and that will brighten the Path for others to follow.
Read more articles like this by subscribing to the author's newsletter at: http://www.warrior-concepts-online.com/newsletter.html Jeffrey M. Miller is the founder and master instructor of Warrior Concepts International. In addition to regular classes for local students, he is called upon by groups and organizations as a speaker, lecturer, and seminar leader on such topics as leadership, personal development, self-defense, and the benefits of training in the martial art of ninjutsu He may be contacted for media interviews and seminar/speaking information at (570) 988-2228 or through his website at http://www.warrior-concepts-online.com
Article Source: ezinearticles.com
On July 29 – August 2 this year, sixty Student Government Presidents from the country's historically black colleges and universities will gather in Jackson, Mississippi for the third annual Nissan Student Government Leadership Program (NSGLP). The program will be held on the campus of Tougaloo College, with nationally-recognized speakers coming to participate and share their wisdom regarding leadership.
The Nissan program exposes SGA Presidents to a curriculum designed for young executives entering corporate America and continues to highlight Nissan's commitment to HBCUs and the world's future leaders. Its overwhelming success has prompted the company to once again offer this leadership experience which helps participants firmly position themselves as leaders on their campuses and in their personal and professional communities.
"The Nissan Student Government Leadership Program is an outstanding hands-on opportunity for college leaders to prepare for corporate leadership. We have gathered some of the brightest minds in the country to design a program that is meaningful and has high impact for the student participants," Stephanie Valdez Streaty, Nissan North America Sr. Manager, Philanthropy & Diversity Communications and the team leader for the NSGLP said.
Speakers who have confirmed attendance to the 2007 program include: Valerie Montgomery Rice, M.D., nationally renowned educator, clinician and researcher in women's reproductive health at Meharry Medical College School of Medicine, Reverend Dr. Nelson Rivers - corporate Chief Operating Officer of the NAACP, Gregory Anderson, writer of the No. 1 Box Office Hit "Stomp the Yard" and former NSGLP corporate participant and American Idol Winner Ruben Studdard.
Invitations for the program have been extended to all HBCUs across the country. But only the first 60 schools to return completed forms will be accepted into each all-expense-paid NSGLP session.
To get more information about the Nissan Student Government Leadership Program visit their website at http://www.nissansglp.com/ or contact Jocelyn R. Coleman at 336-558-8063 or Phanalphie Rhue or at 336-884-0744.
About the Nissan Student Government Leadership Program
In August 2005, Nissan North America, Inc. launched the pilot session of the NSGLP. The innovative leadership development program includes leadership sessions, experiential exercises, nationally-recognized speakers as well as activities which will enhance the student's self-awareness, self-management, social-political awareness and interpersonal relationships. These aspects coupled with networking opportunities with Nissan executives, facilitators and government leaders; create a solid foundation for a successful career in Corporate America and beyond.
About Nissan North America
In North America, Nissan's operations include automotive styling, engineering, consumer and corporate financing, sales and marketing, distribution and manufacturing. More information on Nissan in North America – maker of top of the line Nissan and Infiniti vehicles and auto parts like Nissan truck parts can be found online at http://www.nissannews.com/ and http://www.infiniti.com/.
When many people think of leadership, they don't think of it as existing on a continuum from leading oneself to leading others. They also don't typically associate serving others with leadership. But the fact is that leadership involves both. Here are some thoughts as to why I believe this to be true.
Lead Yourself First - Can someone effectively lead others if they don't do well at leading and managing themselves. In my opinion, no. Being able to lead yourself effectively comes before being able to lead others. As a leader of others, you must set an example. Understanding your behavior and its impact is important to being effective as a leader.
Be Yourself First - To become a leader you must become yourself. Often referred to as authenticity - you must be comfortable with who you are and not be afraid to show others who you really are. Otherwise, people will sense it, they will see through any pretense and you will ultimately lose credibility.
Adapt to Others - Have you ever met someone who seems comfortable in almost any situation or group of people. They seem to have an intuition that enables them to effortlessly adapt their style to the level of the person they are interacting with. Great leaders do this. They don't force people to come to their level. Instead they bring themselves to the other person's level.
Develop Others - Leaders serve others by developing them as leaders. They share skills, insight and power. They even let others have the opportunity to lead. The whole purpose being to develop new leaders. A good leader is one thing, but a great leader is one who develops more leaders.
Communicate to Others - Leaders serve others through communication. They make sure that information flows freely and to everyone. Holding back information in order to strengthen one's own position has no place in effective leadership.
Be Available to Others - Leaders cannot be isolated. People need to feel that they can approach you and talk with you. You need to be available to them and sometimes you even need to seek them out.
Support Others - A leader needs to provide support to others, make sure resources are available and the structure in place so others can succeed. Leaders don't succeed unless those that follow that leader succeed as well.
Encourage Others - A good leader knows when to take risks and how to calculate those risks. But your followers may not. They need to be encouraged to take risks, but this also means that they need to know that mistakes are okay.
A leader often has to start with self leadership, but when it comes to leading others, a leader's focus is often focused on serving those that are following.
David Luhr is a respected coach & trainer with 25 years experience in business & psychology who provides professional coaching & corporate training seminars through SummitAscent. David believes that effective leaders must be anchored by values, committed to service and striving for excellence. Contact David at info@summitascent.com or http://www.summitascent.com
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