MGT3102 Week 2 Discussion

Personal Skills

Leadership is often seen as an elusive skill preserved for only a few and yet leadership, like

management, can be taught to everyone within an organization. Hesselbein and Cohen (1999)

asserted that one of the key differences between management and leadership is the infusion of one's

unique self in his or her leadership approach. As a leader, you must �rst establish your credibility through gaining team members' trust and then you must earn their respect by being yourself.

A leader must have strong values and integrity. Maxwell (1999) states, "integrity is not what we do so

much as who we are" (p. 36). Who you are as a person will ultimately determine your actions.

Therefore, as a leader your words and your actions must line up. If not, your team will produce

inconsistent results.

In order to effect positive change within an organization, the leader must have a positive attitude. It is often said that our attitude will determine our altitude and this has never been truer than when you

are in a leadership position. This is true because, Maxwell (1999) states that "a leader's attitude is

caught by his or her followers more quickly than his or her actions" (p. 101). You cannot lead a high

performing team with a negative attitude. As a leader, you must choose to have the right attitude even

when conditions are less than ideal.

As a leader, there are a number of basic skills that you must learn in order to be effective. However, the

basis of really developing respect and building a strong team will come from you simply being true to yourself. Being an authentic leader is the best way to develop trust and remain true to your core

values.

One of those skills is communication.

We know leadership is about inspiring and uniting others around a common goal. Without

communication, this is an impossible task. Communication is one of the most important skills for

effective leadership. Leaders must be communication champions; leading strategic conversations, asking the right questions, and listening actively. To build leaders' or followers' trust, we must be open

to communicators. A leaders' credibility is based in large part on their communication skills.

Commit to building your communication skills. Good communication is one of the most important

competencies of an effective leader. Whether we are sharing the goals of the organization, counseling

a troubled employee, or resolving con�ict, communication skills will affect our success.

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