How to Train Yourself to Be a Great Leader

"Leadership is not a trait that you are born with; rather it manifests itself in you at different times in your life. The adage "Born Leader" is a myth. It is rather a conscious reflection of a certain set of your attitudes which you display at certain situations' – says Trilok Nath Gupta, a leading training consultant of India with areas of expertise in leadership training, managerial development, selling techniques, customer relations, assertiveness training, interviewing skills and other behavioral skills. He has worked for more than 17 years in the industry ranging from manufacturing to finance and a very long stint with the Life Insurance industry. Leadership, according to Gupta, entails, rising above, standing apart, getting counted, taking responsibility and delivering the results foe which you were assigned to lead. There are different ways how leadership arrives at your doorstep. Leaders follow the principles of Direction, Competence, Communication and Collaboration to be successful.

Here is more from Trilok Nath Gupta:

Leadership creates certain power bases categorized as "positional" power, which is given to us

• Legitimate Power
• Coercive Power
• Information Power
• Reward Power

And then again, there are those categorized as "Personal Power". A leader to be successful uses a combination or any particular one to be effective.

• Charismatic Power
• Refferant Power
• Expert Power
• Connection Power

A leader will also follow the Principles of Tell, Sell, Support and Delegate. The main question however remains as to "why would somebody want to led by you"! Leadership is not a measurable quantity; rather it is a complex display of attitudes in everyday life that makes a person a leader.

Situational leadership

These attitudes are where self discipline and training self as an effective and acceptable leader comes in. There are various modes of leadership which are discussed the world over but personally I feel "Situational Leadership", Leadership according to the situation, whether I should be democratic or Authoritarian, should I step in?? or should I hold back decisions differentiates between a great leader and an average one.

Engagement with team

Engagement with the Team is another important aspect of leadership. Clear, crisp, unambiguous, timely communication is the hall mark of team bonding. The Leaders Ideas and decisions have to be "sold "to the team laying emphasis on their benefit therein so that there is an immediate "buy in "from team members and results delivered.

Delegating work

Delegation is another aspect which effective leaders use. A leader cannot do all the work himself, delegation according to skill sets is very important. You cannot expect a fish to climb a tree and then call it unsuccessful. Regular monitoring and measurement will allow the Leader to understand the level of accomplishment.