A Short Guide To Leadership

Introduction To Leadership

Leadership is a pervasive area of knowledge that touches upon many parts of our lifestyles. Our workplace, home life and social circles are intertwined with leadership and how we display and react to it. Our choice of leadership styles often defines our character and how our colleagues view us.

Leadership Management

Leadership vs Management is a hotly contested issue. In fairness - the two are often combined to become the theory of leadership management, which is well practised in corporations across the world. Managers are generally seen as being bureaucratic people who give orders, to quickly get tasks done in the short term. Leaders are seen as charismatic people who set the objectives and tasks for managers to complete, and allow them to choose how to do it.

Leadership Skills

To develop solid leadership skills I would recommend reading the essential leadership books such as those written my Dale Carnegie and Stephen Covey. Leadership skills are far more important than other ‘soft skills' and should be given priority.

Leadership Development

Leadership Development is a really exciting area at the moment. Developing leadership in organisations across the world are individuals called leadership coaches. Leadership coaches help to develop leadership by applying their own expert knowledge to the specific leadership problems that the organization is facing. They're rather expensive, but in large corporations - their beneficial effect is so great that their salaries are tiny in comparison.

Leadership coaches have not only an extensive knowledge of leadership theory but they are also experts at applying ideas in reality, and also at motivating executives into acting upon them. It is for this reason that the CEOs of companies such as GM and GE employ leadership coaches to give them formal leadership training on a weekly basis.

So, we've covered leadership styles, leadership skills & leadership management. We've also touched on leadership development, leadership theory and leadership training. I hope this serves as a fascinating introduction to the world of leadership, and I implore you to research more about the different elements I have mentioned in this leadership article.

Written by Simon Oates