You Need to Want to be a Leader

“Where you are heading in life is well defined by what you are learning in life.” ~Michael Scicchitano @life_leading

Henry Ford once said “Any man can learn anything he will, but no man can teach except to those who want to learn.”

When I think about being able to learn the skill sets required to be an effective Leader, I think that this quote nicely summarizes my belief that leadership skills are NOT easily learned.  You need to want to be a Leader to learn to be one.  There exists a thirst inside those who truly want to be a Leader – a thirst for learning at every step of the way.  Learning when we succeed and learning more so when we fail.  And what sets the Great Leaders apart from the not-so-great leaders in our ever-changing world is that the Great Leaders want to share what they have learned with others.  However, you really need to know what being a Leader means before you can begin to transform yourself or help to transform others – and remember, it is not about “making it to the top”.

Leadership is NOT…

Inspire others and you will be inspired

My earlier post talked a bit about what I think leadership is.  I mentioned that there can be great discussions that lead us to conclude what leadership might look like if we talk about what leadership is NOT.  Leadership is NOT so many things that society believes it might be.  If someone is elected to a powerful public office, does this person automatically earn the distinction of being a Leader?  Being elected to a political office implies only one thing for sure (without examining specific examples of the actions or inactions of that person):  they have successfully led a team of people to earn enough votes to be elected.  I am certainly not going to get into a political discussion here.  There are way too many blogs out there that you can read if you are

Leadership is…

The right Leader will take you there…

One of the most fascinating discussions I can remember from business school was related to defining what true leadership is. Many times this centered around describing the traits that good leaders possess. Sometimes the debate was about what leadership is NOT. Case review after case review outlined how individuals reacted in times of crisis or financial difficulty. The discussions continue with colleagues that I hold in high regard and who are open to learning and leading in their lives.  I have read numerous articles and books that discuss the traits that make up great leaders. One of my favorite articles by Daniel Goleman talks about how great leaders need to be dynamic to get results – that is, they must adapt to the environment and act (or react) accordingly. Sounds easy enough, right?

Goleman’s research tells us that these skills can be learned.  However, based on my experiences, I find it somewhat difficult be aligned with this school of thought.  I do know that there is plenty of research on this subject and I do believe that one can hone these leadership skills through study and practice.  It is less scientific to be able to gauge when and where to use the skills, and to determine which set of skills is required when faced with an infinite amount of situations.  I believe the only way that the application