Soft skill my ass

-

We all look up to and admire a good leader, impressed by their skill, tenacity, and authenticity. We recognise that rallying people behind a single objective in a mutually beneficial way is extremely difficult. We even recognise that not everyone can be a good leader, and that it takes a special kind of person to fill leadership shoes.

 So, why is it that we call leadership a "soft skill"? Why is it that a "leadership course" shouldn't be longer than four days? Why is it that the teaching of leadership, a skill globally recognised as prolific and difficult, is treated with such contempt? Maybe insecure people in leadership positions don't want competition and downplay proper training. Maybe labelling leadership as a soft skill was a marketing mistake made universities and educators.

 Soft skills...! Don't talk stupid.

 People don't enlist for leadership training for two main reasons: first, leadership is horribly misunderstood. Second, leadership is hard, man. It's not for whimps, regardless of their gender.

 Why do I say leadership is misunderstood? Well, most people think the title is reserved for kings, presidents, politicians, business tycoons and our sports heroes. Simply stated, you don't believe that you could, or should, be a leader - because you don't get what it's about.

 A leader is someone that picks a vision that will benefit others, organises a team to help him or her achieve that vision, and then works relentlessly to make that vision become a reality. Anyone can pick a vision! A school kid, a single mom, or an elderly man on pension can have a vision. You can have a vision. When the vision you pick needs a team to become reality - BOOM! You become a leader.

 That's when you discover how difficult leadership actually is. You've got to juggle people's expectations, moods, resources, communication difficulties, and lastly - your own motivation. It's in the middle of this chaos, standing like the ring master of a crazy circus, frustrated, that you will wish you had some hard core leadership training.

 Don't be diddled, my friend. Leadership is no soft skill. It's a hard life, but the benefits are oh so worth it. Buckle up, it's time to grow.


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Collect, Organise, Analyse and Critically Evaluate Information

-
Image
Personal & Leadership Skill: Collect, Organise, Analyse and Critically Evaluate Information Regardless of the position we hold at work, we all deal with information daily. A massive amount of information is passed back and forward on a moment by moment basis. Information and its assimilation is big business. If you are in business, if you work or even as a student, you will constantly deal with this skill. Efficiently collecting, organising, analysing and critically evaluating information can mean the difference of starting a new trend in your industry or being a tail-end trend follower.
Read more

5 Principles of Team Development

-
Image
5 Key Principles of Team Development In order to achieve something fantastic, you require a team to do what is needed for success. Before you have a high performance team, you need a group that shares a common cause. Before you have a group with a common cause, a leader is required. This leader will take his or her people from being a group into a high performance team that achieves outcomes smoothly and efficiently. Even though there are many kinds of teams, each accomplishing many types of objectives, all requiring vastly different skill sets, it is clear that the leaders of the unique and varying groups need to have an understanding of the basic concepts of leadership. Knowledge of just a handful of key principles will give the leader a clear understanding of his or her role in the success of any team.
Read more

What is Mind Mutter? Part 1 - The Average Enforcer

-
Image
The Average Enforcer When introducing the wonders of Mind Mutter, what it is and how it works, it is beneficial to look at the effects it has on people like us. This article will take a brief look at how Mind Mutter affects peoples thinking, their achievements, their successes and failures. Have you ever wondered why people at the top of their game somehow fail - spectacularly? Think of people in sports, and how at the pinnacle of their career, they make a blunder that destroys their reputation. A top marathon runner, a shy person that shuns media attention, causes such a media spectacle in a top class race, then drops from the "scene" completely, never to be heard from again. How does this happen to world class athletes?
Read more