Leadership skills can be incredibly difficult to develop because when we look back historically at leaders who have defined their nations and generations, they seem to possess natural attributes that ‘just make them great’. In modern times however, leadership has its place in the academic world, has been defined in that world and extensively researched to ascertain how we can be great leaders.
Early in my current Masters of Leadership education journey I was challenged to consider leadership as a process. I had been in a high-level leadership role for 15 years in a government organization and had participated in a range of leadership development seminars, conferences and training sessions but never heard anything like this!
In considering this definition I became aware that if leadership was a process, like any process, there would be strategies and approaches to delivery leadership that could be adjusted in a flexible way to achieve desired outcomes. This in turn caused me to consider ‘what is the outcome of effective leadership’? Again, my studies provided the answer. The outcome was found in the remainder of the definition of leadership. It is taking others on a journey with us.
Effective leaders inspire, direct and guide followers on a journey to an identified outcome or goal.
The ultimate challenge any leader faces is connecting with a range of personalities, who require different leadership and communication styles, to inspire them so that they embrace the journey and the goal as personally worthwhile. This is no easy feat.
In many instances, leaders have become leaders because they have excellent operational skills in their field of expertise. This does not necessarily equip them with the skills to inspire others to follow them. Learning how to achieve this can take time, and often comes through hard earned experience (read ‘failures!’) of what does not work!
An emerging field of leadership development is equine leadership coaching. This experiential learning option is an innovating, insightful and far less frustrating approaching to developing skills and expertise in influencing others. This is achieved through groundwork activities (not horse riding) that hone our awareness regarding the self and how we impact those around us. Sound intriguing? You can learn more in this insightful TEDx talk given by Laira Gold. Barantuil’s partner service offering offers small group and individual equine leadership coaching. To enquire please contact elizabethdenniss@bigpond.com.