Course 4. Foundational Leadership Principles: (Discussion #2) Learning Leadership Skills
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Hello everyone,
Welcome back to the second discussion of the course!
John C Maxwell defines leadership as, a leader is one who knows the way, goes the way, and shows the way.
Effective Leadership starts with utilizing skills to guide your team. There are different research and studies that show that to be a good leader, one would require a blend of some key skills like communication, problem-solving, decision making, conflict resolution, clear vision, integrity, emotional intelligence, listening, empathy, adaptability, resilience, etc.
Behavioral Theories believe that people can become leaders through the process of teaching, learning, and observation. Leadership is a set of skills that can be learned by training, perception, practice, and experience over time. Leadership learning is a lifetime activity.
Everyone holds his fortune in his own hands, like a sculptor the raw material he will fashion into a figure. But it is the same with that type of artistic activity as with all others: we are merely born with the capability to do it. The skill to mold the material into what we want must be learned and attentively cultivated. -- J.W.V. Goethe
The same is true with leadership. You may or may not have all the required ingredients of becoming an effective leader. And, thats totally okay. You can acquire them by learning. Taking small steps every day. That is how one learns, practices, and masters skills.
Next step, below in the comments of this discussion, share
1. Are leaders born or made?
2. Identify 3 skills that you need to work upon?
3. Imagine, you are a project lead and there is a conflict among your team members over responsibility share. As a leader, how will you approach the situation to resolve the concern?
4. Please reply to 3 of your peers in the thread!
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1. Are leaders born or made?
Definitely both. Leadership skills are natural to some and some learn, work on their skills, and become leaders.
2. Identify 3 skills that you need to work upon?
Delegating work, giving feedback and self-care
3. Imagine, you are a project lead and there is a conflict among your team members over responsibility share. As a leader, how will you approach the situation to resolve the concern?
I would look at all the aspects of the problem and understand exactly why there is a conflict. Then, I would talk to each person involved privately before moving ahead and have a meeting with all to discuss options and resolve the conflicts.
@VerseArt
I like that you would look at all the aspects of the problem to be able to understand it well and that you would talk to everyone privately before the meeting. I think that some people are generally shy and would not voice their opinion at a group meeting.
@VerseArt
You seem like a great leader!
@VerseArt
Self-care and delegating work is so important. Talking to others privately sounds like a great start to motivate them and to let them know that you're watching them closely and give out advice when needed.
@Heather225
1. Are leaders born or made?
Leaders are made. Leadership qualities, like the skills of driving, typing, learning a new language etc., can be learnt through sincere practice. Circumstances in which a person lives can also have a great impact on the leadership skills of a person. For example, people living in a flood-prone area would often require to leave their homes during rainy seasons. Now, leaving your home (which would be subjected to flood) would require families to think about what items they should keep with them and what items should they left behind at their home. These families need to manage food, water etc. for themselves. They would need to think about their cattle. Families who would keep precious items (like money, jewellery etc.) with them while migrating to safer places will need to keep these items safe. All of these tasks require great skills. A person who is subjected to such serious circumstances would be practising a lot of skills. A person who has faced no difficulty in life is less likely to have practised leadership skills in her/his life.
2. Identify 3 skills that you need to work upon?
I need to work upon my emotional intelligence, decision-making and adaptibility.
3. Imagine, you are a project lead and there is a conflict among your team members over responsibility share. As a leader, how will you approach the situation to resolve the concern?
First step, I will call for an emergency team meeting. Second, I will request everyone to voice their concerns and opinion. Third, I will focus on creating a priority list for different responsibilities (R). The responsibility that would affect the team or the company the most would be at the top of the responsibility list (R). Fourth, for each responsibility starting from the top of the list (R), I will request the team to discuss their individual strength (regarding that particular responsibility). Every member will highlight their strength and weakenesses with respect to that particular responsibility. Then, the opinions of other members regarding what they think about the strength or weaknesses of a particular member will be discussed. In this way, for each responsibility, a priority list of Members (M) will be created. Member at the top of the list (M) will be requested to handle that responsibility of the list R. If a member denies to handle that responsibility, the member at the second spot will be requested. In this way, I will focus on distributing responsibility to each member of the team.
@shiningSound31
You have a very thorough framework indeed. I'm so proud of you! :)
@shiningSound31
I agree, anyone can become a leader if they practice enough.
@shiningSound31
I really liked your responses, especially the way you would deal with the conflict situation.
@electricPoetry61
Thank you :)
@Heather225
1. Are leaders born or made?
Leaders are made; however, some people are born with more leadership qualities/characteristics than others that make them naturally good at leadership tasks. Regardless of this, if the person wants to become a leader he/she needs to continue working on themselves and expand their skills.
2. Identify 3 skills that you need to work upon?
I need to get better at problem-solving; decision making and I would like to work on my confidence.
3. Imagine, you are a project lead and there is a conflict among your team members over responsibility share. As a leader, how will you approach the situation to resolve the concern?
At the meeting, I would ask team members to think about what responsibilities they would like to take. I would try to divide them into chunks so that everyone would have an equal number of responsibilities and balance of easier/less consuming tasks and more complex ones. I would encourage them to help one another.
@MoonlightHelper1
Awesome job, keep up the good work. I loved your answers 
@MoonlightHelper1 I like your resolution for #3--trying to understand what people's preferences are and then keep things as fair/equitable as possible
@MoonlightHelper1 i love your answer!
@MoonlightHelper1 great answers!
@MoonlightHelper1
great idea in solving the issue!
@Heather225
1. Are leaders born or made?
Everyone has the capability to be a leader, they just need to learn and harness the skills to be a GOOD leader. Like being an artist, their best work takes practice and learning new techniques. Short answer, leaders are made.
2. Identify 3 skills that you need to work upon?
Three skills I need to work on are communicating, asking for feedback, and delegating duties.
3. Imagine, you are a project lead and there is a conflict among your team members over responsibility share. As a leader, how will you approach the situation to resolve the concern?
As a leader, I would first get both sides of the story. Then I would try to come up with a compromise between the two parties. I would allow both sides to state their wants and concerns and then try to figure out a way that works for both parties.
@CognitiveACE
Great answers, Ace :)
@Heather225
Are leaders born or made?
🌸 I believe it could be both. Either way, we'll have to work on our skills continously to become the best possible version of ourselves
Identify 3 skills that you need to work upon?
🌸 Conflict resolution, patience, decision making
Imagine, you are a project lead and there is a conflict among your team members over responsibility share. As a leader, how will you approach the situation to resolve the concern?
I would look into the issue at hand, talk to the team members separately and hear their concerns. Taking into consideration their concerns and individual potential, the responsibilities would be shared
@ahealingEndoftherainbow22
I feel like leadership can be self-made and sometimes born into, just like you. For example, rich people have access to services that make it easier to be a leader, like inheriting a giant company from their parents, but at the same time, the onus is on them to eventually become a leader on their own terms.
I also appreciated your thoughtful responses in general.
@SynSavory
Well said, I agree :) and thank you! You're doing a great job too!
@ahealingEndoftherainbow22
Great answer! I agree leaders can be both.
@BookChunky
Thank you :)
@Heather225
1. Are leaders born or made?
2. Identify 3 skills that you need to work upon?
3. Imagine, you are a project lead and there is a conflict among your team members over responsibility share. As a leader, how will you approach the situation to resolve the concern?
4. Please reply to 3 of your peers in the thread!
1. I feel like leaders can be a varying mixture of the two. The more privileged leaders are born into it, but the parents and support systems fostered that self-made mindset. Working-class people might be more self-made, but they can still be born into it, such as doing noble work.
2. The three skills I need to work on are intercultural communication, conflict resolution with volatile people and fostering a greater resilience towards adverse circumstances.
3. I would approach the problem by allowing the team members to address their concerns, alongside my own viewpoints, mapping it out, and sharing insights that might be a suitable compromise.
@SynSavory
Good job! Your response totally makes sense.
@SynSavory Conflict resolution is such an important skill, and I'm sure I need to work on it more, too. I can feel so guilty if I don't resolve a conflict quickly. Resilience is also so helpful, and I want to improve upon mine as well!
@SynSavory
Well thought out answer!
@SynSavory I like your point that part of what people are born into (apart from genetics or personality) is a surrounding environment that contributes by making success either easier or harder.
@Heather225
1. Are leaders born or made?
I think leaders made. Emotional intelligence being one of the important characteristics of excellent leader makes me conclude that leaders are made because EQ is not in born like IQ which is natural.
2. Identify 3 skills that you need to work upon?
Emotional intelligence (EQ), Decision making, and Trust
3. Imagine, you are a project lead and there is a conflict among your team members over responsibility share. As a leader, how will you approach the situation to resolve the concern?
The first thing I would do is to understand the root cause of the conflict because conflict is like a tree, it source of strength is underneath the ground. Thus, I will try to discuss the root cause of the conflict by allowing the parties involved to speak what really hurt them about the situation at hand. It could be perceived or real. This will in turn makes me to understand the predominant emotion which could be anger, humiliation or somewhat.
Knowing this, I will take best approach to eliminate the root cause and the negative emotion behind the conflict. And lastly, I will allow the parties involved to come up with an agreed solutions and decision to strengthen their relationship.
4. Please reply to 3 of your peers in the thread!
Done
@Beaconx
Great answer! Totally makes sense.
@Beaconx Emotional intelligence seems like something you can definitely build on 7 Cups! Perhaps you can find an organization system that will help you with your decision making? I'm happy to talk about decision making anytime if you want.
@Beaconx
Great answer!
@Beaconx
Makes sense, great answers, my friend, good job and kudos to you for sharing your insights!
@Beaconx That makes sense what you've said about wanting to understand what's really happening so you can know the cause of the hurt feelings and be able to work on that.
@Beaconx nice response!
@Heather225
1. Are leaders born or made?
An individual can definitely be born with ladership qualities, a strong bold personality with the ability to care for others and themselves. But these are skills that can easily be learnt in different stages of life and worked upon for improvement as needed. Leaders can be both born and made.
2. Identify 3 skills that you need to work upon?
I personally believe I need to work on adaptability, decision making and communication - more in the way of being head strong and not being afraid of being judged.
3. Imagine, you are a project lead and there is a conflict among your team members over responsibility share. As a leader, how will you approach the situation to resolve the concern?
I would start with taking time to understand the problem, by communicating with each member clearly to establish what was wrong. Next, I would take my time to figure out a plan to resolve their problem about responsibility, contribute my time to dividing the work properly to best of people's ability, hopefully making everyone feel satisfied.
@BookChunky I relate to needing to lean more towards being assertive and not afraid of being judged. I like the adaptability skill you mention. Plans rarely go as expected!
@JaimieF
Thank Youuu!
@BookChunky
Great answer!
@ahealingEndoftherainbow22
Thank Youuu!
1. Are leaders born or made?
I think leaders are made. I believe in the growth mindset, so we can all work towards becoming what we want. If someone works to become a leader, they certainly can become one.
2. Identify 3 skills that you need to work upon?
1. assertiveness confidence
2. communication apparently, I sometimes have a tone or sound mean when I'm not intending to at all
3. Receiving feedback I still feel extra emotional when I get constructive criticism
3. Imagine, you are a project lead and there is a conflict among your team members over responsibility share. As a leader, how will you approach the situation to resolve the concern?
I would ask both people to share their thoughts and then ask if they would be willing to compromise. I would share what our collective goal is, note how the current conflict is an obstacle, and ask them what they are willing to do to make progress towards that goal and get past the conflict.
@JaimieF
I absolutely love your plan for resolving the concern, sharing the collective goal and noting how the current concern is an obstacle is a really great idea!
@JaimieF
I totally get you on point 2.3: struggling with receiving feedback. I've always been told that I'm too sensitive because I've spent so much time equating (perfectly valid) criticism as an attack on my person. It's a difficult thing to break free from!
@JaimieF
Awesome method at conflict resolution! *thumbs up* 💛
@Heather225
1. Are leaders born or made?
the leaders are made
2. Identify 3 skills that you need to work upon?
long-term perseverance, teamwork, willpower
3. Imagine, you are a project lead and there is a conflict among your team members over responsibility share. As a leader, how will you approach the situation to resolve the concern?
I would discuss the matter with the team members
@Mankka
Long term perseverance! Sounds an interesting Leadership skill. All the best :)
