On leadership

If you look at what you've had to learn in order to work well in a team and work with people, you will see that it said much about leadership: your attitude, teamwork, motivating others, communication, trying to improve, ensuring the safety of others, professional ethics, managing crises, making decisions, and leading groups. You'll be ahead of the pack if you move on to any other role, because you'll approach problems by thinking like a manager and a leader rather than an employee and a follower.

For all the lists of characteristics, the experts haven't found a perfect definition of leadership and haven't made a list of characteristics that all leaders have. Without a definition, we might only describe it as "the personal qualities of a person that make others want to follow them."

Why do people emerge as leaders? First, some appear only because they are needed; they may not want leadership but they're the right person for the role in a time of need. This is especially the case where leaders are in short supply. Second, people need leaders to help them get what they cannot get for themselves. People look to a leader for the next step when they don't know what to do, and want someone to speak on their behalf when they feel powerless. Whatever the kind of leadership, people don't work together very effectively without it.

Third, others emerge as leaders because they see an opportunity, start heading in the right direction, and others follow. Fourth, when many people are jostling for leadership positions, the winner is the best person (or the toughest or nastiest). In these cases, it's possible that many good leaders are bypassed.

Before going too far, you might have noticed that evil people sometimes become leaders and get others to follow them. Some are simply bullies, and some are shrewd political operators. Some are deceptive, manipulative, or clever. So when I talk about leadership, I mean developing good qualities.

Questions

1. Think about what can you learn from the managers who have supervised you. What were they good at? What weren't they? Did each one have a unique personal style? (Incidentally, you'll eventually develop your own style.)
2. Compare the two recommended ways to teach decision-making. What's similar between them? What's different?
3. How can you systematically monitor people's decision-making skills so that you evaluate their progress?