Skip to main content

LEADERSHIP

Go to the book section of Amazon.com, enter the keyword “leadership” and see how many hits you get. Most likely you would get around 20,000 hits. Why is there so much material on this one subject ? the law of supply and demand would say it is because people are buying it. But there are other and more subtle reasons.One of those reasons is the underlying belief that leadership can be taught. With enough training, anybody can be a leader. The theory is that leaders are made, not born !The other day someone told that he sees definite leadership traits in his son. I asked him how old he was. “Six”, he replied. Too young to have been through any leadership training. So are leaders born or made ? the answer is both.The problem is that we often get confused with what can and cannot be taught, and at the heart of the confusion is the difference between talent and skill.Talent is what we do well naturally. It is our bent. Talents are inborn, and can be discovered and developed. They cannot be taught. However, skills can. Skills are simply how to do something. They are learned and transferable. When we confuse talent and skill, we set ourselves up for disappointing expectations from training.The ability to create vision and strategy is a key leadership trait. Some people have a talent for it. They do it naturally and continually. Others don’t. both can learn some skills that will help them do it better. The difference is that the one with the corresponding talent can be excellent at it, while the other one can be adequate at best. Talent is required for excellence.Here is the bottom line for developing your leadership potential ; become the leader you are designed to be. Discover your natural motivational talents, and build on them. Volunteer for assignments and training that complement your natural giftedness. Get on the track to excellence by aligning your development with your talents.There are all types of leaders. Some rouse and inspire. Some organize. Some are strategic, and some tactical. Some spot opportunities, and some protect against disaster . all are needed in this world of ours.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

LEARNING DISABILITIES

The term learning disability refers to many different types of learning issues that can vary widely in levels of severity. Students with a learning disability have at least average intelligence. They have areas of high functioning and areas of difficulties. Their learning disabilities are not caused by problem, such as vision or hearing impairments, or by primary emotional disturbance, and their challenges are not the result of poor schooling. Students with learning disabilities take in information, such as sights or sounds, but may have difficulty understanding or attaching meaning to it. They find it hard to organize information so that it is readily accessible. Retrieving the information from either short or long term memory is difficult. In addition, expressing the information, either verbally through speech or writing, or nonverbally may be a problem. Students with learning disabilities often exhibit wide discrepancies between different skills areas, in other words, they may be g...
32 comments
Read more

Reaction to Globalization

Globalization and the attendant concerns about poverty and inequality have become a focus of discussion in a way that few other topics, except for international terrorism or global warming, have. Most people have a strong opinion on globalization, and all of them express an interest in the well-being of the world's poor. The financial press and influential international officials confidently assert that global free markets expand the horizons for the poor, whereas activist-protesters hold the opposite belief with equal intensity. Yet the strength of people's conviction is often in inverse proportion to the amount of robust factual evidence they have.As is common in contentious public debates, different people mean different things by the same word. Some interpret "globalization" to mean the global reach of communications technology and capital movements, some think of the outsourcing by domestic companies in rich countries, and others see globalization as a byword for...
50 comments
Read more

A TEACHER’S TRIBUTE TO STUDENTS

Teaching is a passion, and my experience as a teacher has been beautiful, emotional and fulfilling. Over the years, I’ve watched the student – teacher equation evolve: From Guru, as all-knowing to Guru as friend and equal, as someone who doesn’t always know the best. Today’s teacher and the learner are partners in the process of teaching and learning. We inspire, motivate and learn from each other; if I don’t know, I can admit it to my students. The teacher is only a facilitator; one who will help the student grow, become a self-learner. The teacher is only one of many sources. Not infrequently, there is a role reversal. With children being so tech-savy, often I am the student and they are my teachers. Has teaching changes the way I think ? Yes, most certainly. My students have shown me how to manage time. I marvel at how deftly they juggle sports, academics, dance, and theatre, for instance. I have learnt how to accept failure as I see my students taking success and failure with equan...
16 comments
Read more