Developing Leadership Skills

You don't need to have a high IQ to realise leadership skills are vital to make any organisation thrive in today's topsy-turvy world of competing issues. Leaders have to tackle issues from handling people, cultural issues, OHS issues, and risk management, to strategies for organisational growth and development.

So how then do leaders develop their skills to ensure they can handle the range and depth of issues they face? Firstly for most it will be an analysis of their strengths weaknesses, threats and opportunities. From here they can explore the weaker side of what they do and set some goals to overcome or at least address the weaker issues.

My own experience tells me that most aspiring leaders have a limited ability to creatively problem solve or address issues of critical thinking, in creating this article I wanted to provide a few ways to build these skill sets so a more natural affinity to creative approaches can develop, leading to more progressive methods.

1. Stop and smell the roses.
   Too often we get caught up in the day-to-day rigmarole of life and fail to enjoy the little things along the way, these are often the things that heighten our experiences so they become more than just another event, they become events of greater quality. This in turn can allow us to work with deigns in nature to formulate more creative approaches.
2. Ask more questions.
   Especially when people are at the centre of the issue, leaders can learn a great deal by asking questions, listening and gathering facts and anecdotes on an issue. Consider jotting down the main points on a white board and looking for connections, differences points you can leverage off.
3. Mind map.
   This can be a simple way of looking at the connections to issues and parts of issues a leader may face. Simply write the main issue in the middle of a page or white board then the other issues that are connected to it radiating off the core issue, to each of these create a simple stick figure picture to connect with each sub point, from here start to bullet point the other details for each sub issue. As the process evolves jot down separately any possible answers to the issues that may arise as you go, often, small segments of information will come to mind that you can work with, and link to make a better solution.
4. Get creative.
   Attend anything to do with creativity, music, performances, exhibitions, courses etc… then do this regularly. While taking part in the activity marvel at the creative ability of the performers, artists etc and become fascinated with the creative process. See if you can use any creative processes to tackle issues you face as a leader. The results can be very surprising! Edward De Bono is credited as the modern day father of lateral thinking or thinking outside the square, if he knows problems can be solved using lateral processes then you should consider it too.

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