Can you think of a time when you have shown leadership? Do you find this difficult? What about the time when you made the decision where to spend a day/night out with your group of friends? What about a student project you steered because you were more confident in the subject area or had background knowledge? Do you play sports and spend time motivating, influencing, and providing positive feedback to your team members? Do you have caring responsibilities and have to time manage effectively to keep your family on track? These are all examples of leadership, of mobilising and motivating groups of people. We often do not recognise that these skills and life experiences align with business-like terminology used in job descriptions such as time management, project management, collaboration, problem solving, event management, prioritising, decision making, delegating, and influencing.
In the book, The Unexpected Leader: discovering the leader within you, the author states,
“I want you to recognize that your ability to embrace and positively elevate your leadership skills is reasonable, within reach, and fully attainable” (Baker, 2011, p. 22)
Becoming an effective leader is reliant upon development a number of key skills and this guide has been prepared to help you recognise, understand, and develop your leadership skill set. These skills are vital for many different jobs, not just graduate, management or leadership roles. The skills referred to in this guide will assist you on your future pathways to function effectively in leading within many different types of organisational structures.
References
Baker, J. M. (2022) The Unexpected Leader: Discovering the Leader Within You. New Jersey: John Wiley and Sons.
