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A guide to becoming an effective leader

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Are effective leaders born or made?

Differentiating managers from leaders, what makes an effective leader, 4 signs that you are not an effective leader, tips to become a more effective leader at work, be the first to know.

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If you’ve ever worked with a leader who wasn’t very effective, you know that poor leadership comes at a cost.

Working with an ineffective leader can be demotivating or demoralizing, which may hamper your productivity and ability to reach your goals. This, in turn, can adversely impact business results. 

Effective leadership , on the other hand, results in increased employee happiness, engagement, and retention rates. But that’s not all. An engaged workforce leads to 17% higher productivity, a 10% increase in customer ratings, a 20% increase in sales, and 21% greater profitability.

While few would argue with the importance of effective leadership, it can often seem like an elusive idea. What is effective leadership? What are the most important leadership qualities?  Can anyone learn how to become an effective leader and, if so, how?

This article will dive into these questions, and more.

Let’s begin by addressing this commonly asked question about whether it makes sense to invest one’s time and energy in trying to become a more effective leader. Because if leaders are born with inherent qualities that can’t be developed, why waste time in fighting a battle that’s already been lost? 

Fortunately, research indicates that leaders are “mostly made.” This means that while there are aspects of leadership that come more naturally to some people than to others, a majority of leadership qualities can be developed . In other words, anyone can learn how to be an effective leader. It requires commitment and hard work, but it is possible.

This is also good news because the most critical skills for leaders have changed over time.

What comes to mind when you hear the words “manager” and “leader”? Would you say they mean the same thing? If not, what is the important difference between leader versus manager ? While these words are sometimes used interchangeably, they point to different functions a person might perform. 

It was once believed that effectively managing an organization was mainly a matter of managing its structures and processes. In 1977, Harvard Business School professor Abraham Zaleznik challenged this view, arguing that there was another aspect to management. That is, the one concerned with vision, inspiration, and the human side of things. 

Building on Zaleznik’s work, John P. Kotter argued that effectively managing organizations required a balance between management and leadership , which are two different things. 

Here are some of the key differences between a manager and an effective leader: 

Managers follow processes and prioritize stability and control. Leaders are more willing to challenge the status quo and tend to be more patient with chaos and a lack of structure. 

Managers are focused on specific processes, including planning, budgeting, organizing, and staffing. Leaders are concerned with creating a vision and effectively guiding people through change .

Managers usually have positional authority in organizational hierarchy. Leaders may have authority, but it’s not a necessary condition for demonstrating leadership. People at any level in the organization can be great leaders .

Managers exercise control to get their teams to deliver the desired results. Leaders encourage autonomy so that team members are self-motivated to do what is needed.

It is important to note that these differences don't make one approach better than the other. Organizations need strong managers as well as effective leaders. However, it has been argued that many organizations today are over-managed and under-led . This makes it important for more people to develop effective leadership skills.

There isn’t necessarily a one-size-fits-all approach to effective leadership. Research suggests that leading from one’s unique strengths yields better results than trying to emulate other leaders. 

This makes sense, as effective leaders come in diverse forms, and fit the needs of diverse organizations. Retired general Colin Powell’s leadership style was undoubtedly very different from wellness advocate Arianna Huffington’s style. Each is effective because they know and embrace their strengths, while also acknowledging and managing their weaknesses, within a culture that suits them.

In its quest to find what makes the most effective leaders, Gallup analyzed decades of data gathered from thousands of leaders as well as their “followers.” They found that the most effective leaders exhibit three key qualities : 

• Focusing on strengths. The most effective leaders consistently focus on the strengths of their team members. This can help each team member feel empowered to do their best work and contribute to achieving the team’s goals. In turn, focusing on strengths usually leads to higher employee engagement and well-being, and gains in the organization’s bottom line.
• Forming well-rounded teams. Effective leaders recognize that they can’t excel at everything. To overcome this challenge, they surround themselves with people who have complementary strengths, qualities, and skill sets. This results in well-rounded, high-performing teams.
• Understanding their followers’ needs. Effective leaders understand and honor four basic needs that followers have: trust, compassion, stability, and hope. People are motivated to work with leaders they can depend on, and who genuinely care about them, provide a solid and reliable foundation, and inspire hope for the future.

A combination of these qualities, along with self-awareness, are important factors that make an effective leader. 

Some other traits effective leaders have in common include:

• Excellent communication skills. An effective leader can clearly communicate their vision, provide constructive feedback to team members, and negotiate with other company leaders for things their team needs.
• High emotional intelligence. Great leaders develop their emotional regulation skills . They must be able to identify, control, and express their emotions in a productive manner, and guide their team members toward doing the same.
• Empathy. The best leaders are able to empathize, or understand and share feelings, with their team members.
• Integrity. Effective leaders live by strong values that guide their decisions and behaviors. They know right from wrong, are honest in their interactions with others, and practice ethical leadership .
• Creativity. Effective leaders think outside the box to come up with innovative solutions to business problems and creative ways to reach business goals. They know that creativity is for everyone .

Every leader always has room for improvement, though some may need more development than others. Some signs that you may not be an effective leader include:

• Your team members are disengaged. If your team is simply going through the motions, completing their assigned tasks, and nothing more, you may have a disengaged team on your hands. This could be a sign that you’re not properly inspiring, motivating, and enabling them to do their best work.
• Your team is consistently failing to meet goals. It’s normal not to meet all of your goals, all of the time, but it is a problem when it happens consistently. This could be a sign that you need to communicate better with company leaders around more attainable goals or additional resources you need. Or, it could be a signal that your team is disengaged and that you need to lead them more effectively.
• Nobody speaks up with feedback during meetings. Effective leaders encourage team members to share their opinions and ideas. If your team holds back during meetings, they might not feel comfortable doing so. This can hinder your team’s ability to solve business problems in a more efficient, productive way.
• Your team has a low promotion rate. Great leaders develop their team members, help them build career paths, and sponsor them for promotions when the time is right. If your team has a low promotion rate, high time to promotion, or a high turnover rate due to lack of career progression, you may need to work on employee development.

Leadership skills and traits can — and should — be learned and developed. The skills needed to be an effective leader adapt with the times. BetterUp research has shown that being an inclusive leader has a positive ripple effect on the entire team . Hybrid work has changed how leaders lead inclusively across a hybrid team . Here are some areas you may want to work on:

• Know thyself. One of the most important steps you can take to be an effective leader is to become more aware of your strengths, weaknesses, values, behaviors, and the impact you have on other people. Self-reflection is a good place to start becoming more self-aware, but it’s not enough. Actively seeking feedback from your team and your colleagues is also an important aspect of self-awareness . Many organizations use 360 assessments, which can be a great tool to have at your disposal. 
• Demonstrate honesty and integrity. Trustworthiness is an important quality in leaders. It’s crucial that you maintain the highest levels of integrity and remain open and honest in your interactions with your team. Can you think of leaders you find easy to trust? What makes them trustworthy? What can you learn from them?
• Invest time in coaching and developing others. Effective leaders take a genuine interest in the growth and development of the people they work with. Take interest in learning about the goals and aspirations of your team members and play an active role in helping them grow and develop. This will help you better understand their needs and support them more effectively. 
• Develop and demonstrate emotional intelligence. Being able to effectively manage your own emotions—and those of the people around you—is an important skill known as emotional intelligence . This is a necessary skill if you want to offer stability and hope to your team, especially during challenging times. If you feel you are not particularly good at emotional intelligence, it might be worthwhile to invest time in developing this skill.
• Learn how to have difficult conversations. As a leader, you will inevitably find yourself in situations where you need to share unpleasant news with someone or where you need to disagree with someone without offending them. Being able to have difficult conversations while maintaining—and even building—trust is an important aspect of effective leadership.
• Focus on the whole person. People like to work for leaders who care about them as human beings—not just as human resources. Spend time getting to know your team members on a personal level and build relationships with them. If you are compassionate and care for their overall well-being, they are more likely to go above and beyond for what you ask of them.

Final thoughts on how to be an effective leader

Leadership is not a mystical quality and anyone can become a more effective leader by developing some important skills. Managing managers can also be more complex and complicated. But with coaching, you can develop thriving leaders that lead to a thriving workforce. 

Lead with confidence and authenticity

Develop your leadership and strategic management skills with the help of an expert Coach.

Yashi Srivastava, MAPP, CPCC

Yashi Srivastava is a BetterUp Coach. She helps people find calm, clarity, and courage amidst the chaos, uncertainty, and stresses of everyday life. She is at her best when she is helping people grow — as professionals, but also as human beings. After spending most of her life in India and a few years in the US, Yashi currently lives in Canada with her wonderfully geeky husband and two delightful daughters. Yashi's latest aspiration in life is to find a sense of calm balance between cherishing the joys and challenges of motherhood while continuing to live her life’s calling to help others flourish.

Refine your approach with these 7 leadership theories

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How to Be an Effective Leader at Any Career Stage

• 31 Aug 2018

The word “leader” tends to conjure images of that C-suite executive with a corner office and growing team of direct reports. But the truth is, leaders exist at all levels of an organization. You, yourself, can be a leader—no matter the stage of your career.

In a recent Facebook Live session with Ethan Bernstein, an associate professor of leadership and organizational behavior at Harvard Business School, Kirstin Lynde, founder and principal at leadership development firm Catalyze Associates, offers her advice to those looking to become leaders.

What Is Leadership?

Leadership "is all about influencing people,” Lynde said. “Leadership is something that you don’t actually have to wait until you’re a formal leader with five or 10 direct reports to practice.”

Anyone can exercise influence at work. According to Lynde, you can display leadership by being:

• The go-to person on a certain subject within your organization
• Someone who thinks creatively and frequently shares ideas in meetings
• An active listener and consensus builder
• The colleague who’s good at making everyone feel included and valued on the team
• A person who’s effective at articulating how he or she thinks the organization should move forward

If you aspire to become a leader at work, here are some qualities of effective leaders to consider developing, and a step-by-step framework to become an effective leader.

Access your free e-book today.

Qualities of Effective Leaders

It’s true that anyone can be a leader, but there are certain characteristics that are common among successful leaders. Consider developing these relevant leadership skills and abilities.

1. Communication Skills

Successful leaders almost always have exceptional communication skills. By developing your leadership communication skills , you’ll be able to better articulate your vision and foster a more collaborative environment. You should also keep an open line of communication with your team to remain transparent about what you’re doing and what needs to be done.

2. An Innovative Mindset

Simply put, innovation in business refers to generating new ideas and approaches to solve existing business problems and meet organizational objectives. Great leaders foster innovation in the workplace and are always looking for new and improved ways to do things that will help the business overcome organizational change .

3. Decision-Making Capabilities

Effective leaders need to make strategic business decisions under pressure with a limited amount of information, both individually and with their teams . Following a specific decision-making process will help you guide your decisions and act in the best interest of your company.

4. Emotional Intelligence

To be an influential leader, you need to possess emotional intelligence , which is the ability to understand your own emotions and influence others'. Emotionally intelligent leaders also master empathy. Research shows that empathetic leaders perform more than 40 percent higher in coaching, engaging others, and decision-making.

To help develop these leadership capabilities and become an effective leader, follow the leadership self-development model below.

How to Be an Effective Leader

If you want to become an effective leader, you first need to evaluate who you are as a communicator and collaborator, and be honest with yourself about your strengths and weaknesses.

“We all have our behavioral styles and typical approaches that have been baked into us since we were young,” Lynde said. “Some of those styles and approaches work well when you become a leader, and some of them can hold you back.”

Once you’ve assessed your work style, it’s easier to determine which goals to set in order to grow as a leader. Perhaps it’s that you need to improve how you provide feedback , or that you want to become better at spotting business opportunities. Whatever your objective, it should directly relate to how you influence others. In turn, your boss and colleagues should be incorporated into the goal-setting process.

Bernstein and Lynde have created a unique leadership self-development model, called PACE . Each letter in PACE stands for steps you can take to become more effective in your organization—Pick, Apprise, Collect, and Elicit—and are outlined below.

1. Pick a Goal

It’s easier to pick one goal than trying to fix multiple areas at once. If you’re not sure where to start, turn to your colleagues for guidance. It could be as simple as telling your boss, “I have aspirations of advancing into manager-level roles. Can you tell me what you think are the two or three biggest skill sets I need to develop to get there?” Or, “I want to get better at my role and improve as a teammate. How do you think I could have a more positive impact?”

“If the goal of leaders is to influence others more effectively, you need to have conversations with other people about how you can do better at contributing to the group and interacting with others,” Lynde said. “You shouldn’t have to wait until someone signs you up for a leadership development program.”

2. Apprise Others of Your Goal

Once you’ve settled on a goal, share it with those you work most closely with whom you trust. Not only will the process hold you more accountable to achieving your goals, but it can elevate your professional relationships.

Research by Harvard Business School Professors Alison Wood Brooks and Francesca Gino shows that asking for advice makes a good impression. And the more candid you are about your goals, the more others feel comfortable asking for feedback in return—leading to mutually beneficial relationships that can grow your network.

By enlisting others in your professional development, it’s also more likely that your colleagues will recognize and publicly acknowledge the positive changes you make.

“It’s often hard to change other people’s perception of us,” Lynde said. “In order to break through and change perceptions, you often can benefit greatly by letting other people know what you’re doing, so that when you do it, they see it.”

3. Collect Ideas

Simply sharing your goal isn’t enough. You also want to collect ideas on how you can improve. If your colleague is strong in the area you’re trying to grow in, Lynde encourages telling him or her that and asking, “By next week, I’d love feedback. Can you tell me two ideas on how I can do better in this specific area?”

What you want to avoid is putting your co-workers on the spot. Give them time to formulate ideas. You should also avoid asking, “How can I improve?” Not only is the question too broad, but your peers might shy away from providing honest, actionable feedback out of fear they could unintentionally insult you by highlighting an unknown weakness.

4. Elicit Feedback

Once you’ve collected ideas and started working toward your goal, ask for feedback on how you’re doing. You should give yourself enough time to actually make some headway—rather, don’t ask for feedback within the first week. Regularly check in with those you shared your goal with, though, and chart your progress.

Remember: It’s an Iterative Process

As you work through each step of the PACE framework, what’s important to remember is that this is an iterative and continuous process. You can’t take one workshop and say you’ve now learned how to influence others; every leader is a work in progress. What’s important is that you start developing yourself as a leader early in your career.

“It’s gotten harder to develop leadership abilities the longer I’ve waited,” Bernstein said. “Once you’re in the role, it’s much harder to admit the shortcomings than to admit them before you’re there.”

So start with that honest self-assessment and work from there.

“It’s all about building up your own self-awareness of who you are and how you come across,” Lynde said. “And then it’s about taking very real, tangible steps in your day-to-day life—starting immediately.”

Do you want to enhance your leadership skills? Download our free leadership e-book and explore our online course Leadership Principles to discover how you can become a more effective leader and unleash the potential in yourself and others.

This post was updated on May 13, 2021. It was originally published on August 31, 2018.

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10 Tips for Leading Like a Boss

How to Become a Great Leader Even If You Don't Feel Confident

Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

• Find Out Your Leadership Style

Encourage Creativity

Serve as a role model, be passionate, listen and communicate effectively, have a positive attitude, encourage people to make contributions, motivate your followers, offer rewards and recognition, keep trying new things.

How would you describe a strong leader? One study cited leadership qualities such as assertiveness, adaptability, intelligence, and conscientiousness as the most important.

Transformational leaders are positive, empowering, and inspiring. They value followers and inspire them to perform better. So, what can we do to embrace these valued leadership qualities and become stronger and more effective leaders?

Transformational leaders are usually described as enthusiastic, passionate, genuine and energetic. These leaders are not just concerned about helping the group achieve its goals; they also care about helping each member of the group reach his or her full potential. 

Start by Understanding Your Leadership Style

Understanding your current leadership style is essential. What are your strengths? Which areas need some improvement? One way to start assessing your skills is to take this leadership style quiz to get a general idea of how you lead.

Once you have completed the quiz, read about the major characteristics of your dominant style. Are these qualities helping or hindering your leadership? Once you've determined which areas need work, you can look for ways to improve your leadership abilities.

Intellectual stimulation is one of the leadership qualities that define transformational leadership. Followers need to be encouraged to express their creativity . Effective leaders should offer new challenges with ample support to achieve these goals.  

One way to foster creativity is to offer challenges to group members, making sure that the goals are within the grasp of their abilities. The purpose of this type of exercise is to get people to stretch their limits but not become discouraged by barriers to success.

Idealized influence is another of the four key components of transformational leadership. Transformational leaders embody the behaviors and characteristics that they encourage in their followers. They walk the walk and talk the talk. As a result, group members admire these leaders and work to emulate these behaviors.

Research suggests that leaders are able to foster a specific belief and then transmit that inspiration to their followers. As a result, followers are optimistic and have high standards for performance and achievement.

If you want to become a better leader, work on modeling the qualities that you would like to see in your team members.

Would you look to someone for guidance and leadership if they did not truly care about the goals of the group? Of course not! Great leaders are not just focused on getting group members to finish tasks; they have a genuine passion and enthusiasm for the projects they work on.  

You can develop this leadership quality by thinking of different ways that you can express your zeal. Let people know that you care about their progress. When one person shares something with the rest of the group, be sure to tell them how much you appreciate such contributions.

Another important quality of transformational leadership involves a focus on providing one-on-one communication with group members. Transformational leadership is effective when leaders are able to communicate their vision to followers, who then feel inspired and motivated by this vision.  

Good leaders should express sincere care and concern for the members of their group both verbally and nonverbally .

By keeping the lines of communication open, these leaders can ensure that group members can make contributions and receive recognition for their achievements.

Transformational leaders have an upbeat, optimistic attitude that serves as a source of inspiration for followers. If leaders seem discouraged or apathetic, members of the group are likely to also become uninspired.

Even when things look bleak, and your followers start to feel disheartened, try to stay positive. This does not mean viewing things through rose-colored glasses. It simply means maintaining a sense of optimism and hope in the face of challenges.

Let the members of your team know that you welcome their ideas. Leaders who encourage involvement from group members are often referred to as democratic or participative leaders . While they retain the final say over all decisions, they encourage team members to take an active role in coming up with ideas and plans.

Research has shown that using a democratic leadership style leads to greater commitment, more creative problem-solving and improved productivity.  

Transformational leaders also provide inspirational motivation to encourage their followers to get into action.   Of course, being inspirational isn't always easy. Fortunately, you don't need motivational speeches to rouse your group members.

Some ideas for leadership​ inspiration include being genuinely passionate about ideas or goals, helping followers feel included in the process and offering recognition, praise, and rewards for people's accomplishments.

Another important quality of a good leader involves knowing that offering effective recognition and rewards is one of the best ways to help followers feel appreciated and happy.   It may also come as no surprise that happy people tend to perform better at work.

Who says leadership is a one-way relationship? As you work toward developing some of these leadership qualities, don't forget to look to your followers for feedback and inspiration. Pay attention to the things that have been effective in the past and always be on the lookout for new ways to inspire, motivate, and reward group members.

Cekmecelioglu, HG, Ozbag, GK. Leadership and creativity: the impact of transformational leadership on individual creativity. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences . 2016;235(24):243-249. doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2016.11.020

Hayati D, Charkhabi M, Naami A. The relationship between transformational leadership and work engagement in governmental hospitals nurses: a survey study .  Springerplus . 2014;3:25. doi:10.1186/2193-1801-3-25

Steinmann B, Klug HJP, Maier GW. The path is the goal: how transformational leaders enhance followers' job attitudes and proactive behavior .  Front Psychol . 2018;9:2338. doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02338

Amanchukwu RN, Stanley GJ, Ololube NP. A review of leadership theories, principles and styles and their relevance to educational management . Management . 2015;5(1):6-14. doi:10.5923/j.mm.20150501.02

Riggio, RE. The 4 elements of transformational leaders . Psychology Today . November 15, 2014.

Gillbert SL, Kelloway, EK. Leadership, recognition and well-being: a moderated mediational model . Canadian Journal of Administrative Sciences . 2018;35(4):523-524. doi:10.1002/cjas.1477

Bass BM, Riggio, RE. Transformational Leadership (2nd ed.). Erlbaum; 2016.

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

Essays About Effective Leadership: Top 6 Examples and Prompts

Effective leadership is an essential trait that all people should strive to develop; here are 6 examples and topic ideas essays about effective leadership .

Many qualities make an inspiring and effective leader, such as vision, focus, and motivation. Like other skills, effective leadership can be innate or learned and practiced. When writing about leadership, include the strengths of an effective leader and how these qualities positively impact their team. You can also discuss weaknesses that can make a poor leader and how to combat these issues.

Here are 6 examples and 10 essay prompts to get you started on your next essay.

1. What Makes an Effective Leader? by Tony Gill

2. a guide to becoming an effective leader by yashi srivastava , 3. leadership: 5 practices of effective leaders by yvette gyles, 4. 6 characteristics of an effective leader by lauren landry, 5. six leadership lessons by order of the peaky blinders by andrew denton mbe, 6. leadership and the quest for certainty by keith grint,  1. what is effective leadership, 2. what does effective leadership look like in the corporate industry, 3. what to avoid to become an effective leader, 4. habits of an effective leader, 5. studying the mindsets of effective leaders, 6. effective leadership and its benefits to an organization, 7. indicators of strong and effective leadership, 8. poor leadership vs. effective leadership, 9. real-life examples of effective leadership, 10. how perception creates effective leadership.

“Work at using leadership styles that do not come naturally, styles that you find difficult. By becoming a well-rounded leader, it is easier to adapt your leadership technique for different situations.”

Gill uses a research-based approach to answer the central question of his essay. He looks at various sources that tackle the topic of effective leadership and stitch them together to make a comprehensive guide to effective leadership.

“Leadership is not a mystical quality, and anyone can become a more effective leader by developing some important skills.”

The author, Yashi Srivastava, defines what differentiates leaders from managers first. Then, she provides some dos and don’ts of an effective leader and how people could apply them in different situations. 

“Whereas as leaders, we need to be concerned about creativity and innovation, making positive changes, and seeking to challenge and push boundaries.”

Gyles specializes in leadership training for companies, so her approach to the essay is geared more toward company leaders. Nevertheless, it’s highly educational for all those interested in learning effective leadership meant for dealing with various people and guiding people to a direction or goal.

“Effective leaders don’t avoid the hard truths. Instead, they take responsibility for their decisions, maintain optimism, and focus on charting a new course of action.”

Landry’s essay focuses on her six top characteristics of an effective leader. Some of these characteristics are what you’d expect to see in an essay like this. Entries like transparency are less common but equally important in practicing effective leadership.

“Rolling your sleeves up with everyone else not only sets an example, it makes people want to follow you.”

Fiction mirrors life, and it’s one of the best sources to learn lessons that are otherwise too complex or vague to see in real life. Despite his penchant for crime and violence, Thomas Shelby is undeniably one of the most influential leaders on TV. This essay details the leadership skills used by a 1920s gangster character and how you can use them in modern life to become an effective and inspiring leader.

“Leadership is often associated with certainty; indeed, it is sometimes reduced to the decision-making process such that anything which smacks of uncertainty is categorized as weakness or a failure of leadership.”  

Grint’s essay on leadership explores the factors around leaders’ certainty or confidence. Of course, not all leaders have a clear answer to a problem, which is fine. The important thing is that they have a mindset to look for solutions and a modicum of honesty about their lack of uncertainty.

10 Essay Prompts on Effective Leadership

It’s your turn to express and explore your view of effective leadership. Use these prompts to work out your approach or steps to effective leadership. Here are ten prompts about effective leadership to help you get started on your essay.

Defining effective leadership is one way to explore your understanding of the idea. Remember that your definition of effective leadership could vastly differ from the other essays you’ve read. It’s also a great starting point for new people who want to warm up to the habit of writing essays about leadership.

Essay writing tip: If you’re new to writing essays, consider simplifying your essay. Try shortening it down to a five-paragraph essay .

You can find many leaders in the corporate industry, but some are more effective than others. Use this prompt to work out how you envision effective leadership in the corporate world. You can also apply the same idea to other fields, like at school, among friends or peer groups, or in the family. Consider carefully the field or organization you’d like to use for the essay.

You may have personal experience with a person who could have been an effective leader if not for their bad habits. You might have been that person and realized how your bad habits had held you back from practicing effective leadership. This is your chance to write about your experience, whether via observing someone else or through personal growth.

Practicing effective leadership goes beyond having direction and a vision for the organization. Becoming an effective leader also takes time and patience. Use this prompt to discuss the habits of great leaders and how these habits make them effective in their leadership.

Get into the mind of a leader and explore how such a person might become more effective in their leadership. This topic may involve discussing various people, whether real-life persons or fictional characters. Research how they think, handle their role and manage the people they lead.

Understanding the benefits of effective leadership is one of the best ways to drive someone to practice and adopt it. Use this prompt to detail how an effective leader boosts morale, productivity, motivation, communication quality, and confidence in the people they lead. It applies to all organizations, like businesses, teams, and networks.

How do you know whether a person’s leadership style and approach are effective or not? Use this essay topic to discover the different methods of measuring effective leadership. Read about the different measurements and indicators of leadership used in corporations and organizations.

Leaders can be good, mediocre, or bad in their leadership approaches and styles. This essay prompt will push you to compare bad leadership and effective leadership. You can also add methods of improving one’s leadership style to become more effective.

You can find a lot of excellent leaders throughout history. This idea focuses on discussing different leaders, their leadership styles, and levels of effectiveness.

Interpersonal skills are vital to great leadership. Perception of others’ feelings and thoughts can help you become an even better and more effective leader. Discuss how intuitiveness positively affects one’s leadership style. 

Check out our list of great essay writing topics for students for more topics to improve your writing.

Maria Caballero is a freelance writer who has been writing since high school. She believes that to be a writer doesn't only refer to excellent syntax and semantics but also knowing how to weave words together to communicate to any reader effectively.

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8 Essential Qualities of Successful Leaders

• Rebecca Knight

And how to cultivate them.

Becoming a great leader is a journey of continuous learning and growth. It’s a process — one that thrives on embracing challenges, seeking feedback, fostering connections, and cultivating understanding. In this article, the author outlines the eight most essential leadership qualities, according to Harvard Business School professor Linda Hill, one of the world’s top experts on leadership. Star leaders aren’t born with superhuman capabilities, Linda explains. Rather, they tend to have intentionally put themselves in situations where they have to learn, adapt, and grow — a crucible for developing the tenacity and fortitude to motivate and guide others.

Do you have what it takes to be a great leader ?

• RK Rebecca Knight is a journalist who writes about all things related to the changing nature of careers and the workplace. Her essays and reported stories have been featured in The Boston Globe, Business Insider, The New York Times, BBC, and The Christian Science Monitor. She was shortlisted as a Reuters Institute Fellow at Oxford University in 2023. Earlier in her career, she spent a decade as an editor and reporter at the Financial Times in New York, London, and Boston.

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Effective Leadership: What It Means Essay

• To find inspiration for your paper and overcome writer’s block
• As a source of information (ensure proper referencing)
• As a template for you assignment

It is very imperative to bring a change in the organization and only successful leaders can bring this change in their organization and their team. Effective leaders have always a positive impact on their organization’s business and culture through their efficient leading style to bring prominent changes. An effective leader is well aware of leadership concepts and practices.

An effective leader honors his employee, give them credit on their hard work, learns from mistakes and try to change and overcome, never teases or criticizes his employee and try to develop a positive environment in which all work in a collaborative manner.

The high destiny of the individual is to serve rather than to rule————–Albert Einstein.

Leadership is not the same as management

Achieving a top is not an easy task or to rule someone is also difficult. Successful people always follow some rules to achieve the top. These rules make them different from others. The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (Powerful Lessons in Personal Change) By Stephen R.Covey book was first published in 1989. It is a self-help book and it gives a complete guide to those who want to be a successful professionals. Some rules must have to be followed in the path to success. This book divides principals into four sections: Paradigms and Principles, Private Victory, Public Victory, Renewal. Its chapters are dedicated to each habit. According to this book, seven habits for being a successful man are as follows”

• Be Proactive: the only activity which makes humans different from animals is self-awareness and this part of R.Covey deals with these characteristics. Gandhi said, “They can’t take away our self-respect if we do not give it to them.”
• Begin with the End in Mind: Developing the target/mission in mind is one of the best habits of leaders.
• Put First Things First: Spend time on observing a proper balance between productions and producing production ability.
• Think Win/Win: Always be focus on the deal and try to win. If not then apply the “no-deal” formula.
• Seek First to Understand, Then to be understood: R.Covey described as the most important habit in building interpersonal skills.
• Synergize: try to solve the problem with mutual understanding.
• Sharpen the saw: Take time in solving issues, try to maintain a balance between physical, mental, social/emotional, and spiritual dimensions.

The above seven habits develop effectual changes in human personality. These seven habits are inside-out approaches to effectiveness. This book’s approach integrates personals and the paradigm shift from the personnel ethic towards character ethic. Every person’s character is a build-up of his habits. Habits make the person be judged. Most habits depend on three factors: dependence, interdependence, and independence. These habits build one’s personal productivity.

Ability, attention, and participation are the most important characteristics of authentic and successful leaders

Effective leadership always depends on the approaches, a leader carries in the path of success. People can be succeeded if they follow proper rules and possess some extraordinary qualities. The above-listed characteristics make the man perfect and able to rule. These seven habits create a balance between interpersonal and personal skills. If a person posses good and impressive qualities or habits then no one can indorse hurdles in the way and the person will directly reach the top.

Effective leadership is indispensable to learning, until and unless a person will learn, would not be able to lead. An effective leader must have some surplus and additional habits/skills for being a long-term leader. Leadership always depends on proper and on-time correct decisions. If a person posses above seven qualities then no doubt a leader can easily reach the top in this fast-moving world.

An effective leader is always determined, persuasive, and works for their best. It is well understood by them that there is always room for improvement. Excellence is what they want to achieve and whatever they do. They have a strong desire to do their best and perform outstandingly. The workforce they create is organized, unified, disciplined, cooperative, and very productive. They keep setting new standards and carve new ways to improve and bring change.

An effective leader always makes others feel honored and valued. He does not use his power to devalue others, never makes them feel bad for their mistakes, and never makes criticism. He brings changes only with optimistic thinking, a positive attitude, and words. He is always committed to helping others.

A leader is always an example for his employee and plays a role model for them. He tells others to do what he himself shows by his deeds. He is always a positive role model for others.

A successful leader is always productive, he must think and behave as a leader for a positive impact on employees, staff, and the organization. A leader is always aware of his strengths and weaknesses and keeps striving for his leadership role. The most important point is that before bringing any change in the organization and putting a positive impact on it, a leader must himself show by his deeds those positive attitudes and traits that he would like to implement in his organization.

An effective leader is always honest and trustworthy. He always deals honestly with others and develops trust with his employees and staff. He credits everyone. He admits their mistakes and tries to change and improve them rather than just blaming them for their errors. Honoring others is a very crucial point in his team leadership role

• Stephen R. Covey, Seven habits of effective people, 2008.
• Stephen Prosser, Leader’s effectiveness, 2008.
• Daniel P.Hallahan, Learning Disabilities, 2004.
• The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People
• Frederick Douglass: The Autobiography Analysis
• The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People
• “Men Make Better Leaders Than Women”: Discussion of the Statement
• Observations on Interpersonal Behavior
• Review: "Leadership in Workplace Health Promotion Projects" by Delve and Colleagues
• Leadership Style Evaluation and Self-Management
• Avon's Product Marketing Group: Leadership Issues
• Chicago (A-D)
• Chicago (N-B)

IvyPanda. (2021, September 30). Effective Leadership: What It Means. https://ivypanda.com/essays/effective-leadership-what-it-means/

"Effective Leadership: What It Means." IvyPanda , 30 Sept. 2021, ivypanda.com/essays/effective-leadership-what-it-means/.

IvyPanda . (2021) 'Effective Leadership: What It Means'. 30 September.

IvyPanda . 2021. "Effective Leadership: What It Means." September 30, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/effective-leadership-what-it-means/.

1. IvyPanda . "Effective Leadership: What It Means." September 30, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/effective-leadership-what-it-means/.

Bibliography

IvyPanda . "Effective Leadership: What It Means." September 30, 2021. https://ivypanda.com/essays/effective-leadership-what-it-means/.

• Essay Writing Guides

Your Complete Guide to Writing a Compelling Leadership Essay

True leadership lies at the heart of human well-being and success. Every positive step humanity ever took required great and responsible leadership. Therefore, people have studied leadership for many edges to unravel its different underlying factors. 

But how do you write a great essay that demonstrates your grasp of this sacred call? This post shares practical insights on how to write a leadership essay . Keep reading it to sharpen your skills in this assignment niche. 

What Is a Leadership Essay ?

Before proceeding to see how best to draft a perfect leadership essay, let’s answer the big question, “ What is leadership essay ?” A leadership essay is an assignment that falls under student application essays. This paper provides student admission officers with insight into your previous leadership experience. 

While this assignment appears to be specific, it acknowledges that the nature and perception of leadership can greatly vary depending on context and individuals. 

Leadership Essay Ideas and Topics

Selecting the best topics for your essays on leadership is vital. When composing this paper, you will focus on two main areas revolving around your leadership style and the memorable moment when you demonstrated leadership. Please note that these two areas usually overlap because while recounting that moment you demonstrated leadership, you will also show your leadership style. 

Whichever area you choose to focus on, use anecdotal evidence that proves the idea. Here, you can freely go with what feels best for you. Just ensure that the instance you use to demonstrate leadership is a real-life experience. This way, you will be best placed to choose a topic that makes your readers enjoy your paper.

How to Write a Leadership Essay

While this paper might sound like an introduction on leadership essay , it doesn’t mean you aren’t a leader or can’t lead people. So, how do you compose a killer leadership essay that impresses student admission officials? Here are ideas on how to write leadership essay that fetches good grades and makes a positive impression of your leadership potential. 

• As earlier hinted, you must research to choose a good topic that will impress your readers and portray you as an upcoming great leader.
• When writing about a leadership concept, take notes of some credible sources of information. Find out what others have written about that topic.  
• Outline your essay to organize all the details you want to include. This way, you won’t forget to include anything your readers need. 

Alternatively, you can check out past papers written on your chosen leadership topics. This way, you will have a strong basis for further expansion of your arguments and incorporating relevant ideas into your paper. However, remember to follow intellectual property laws to avoid plagiarism.

Formatting Your Leadership Essay

Your essay about leadership requires correct formatting to ensure everything flows well. Like other types of papers, leadership essays follow a five-paragraph pattern. It has an introduction, a body section, and a conclusion, depending on its word count or page limits.  

• Introduction: This section captures the reader’s interest, defines good leadership in relation to you, and directly addresses the given prompt.
• Body paragraphs: The body section gives some background information using anecdotes to describe your leadership style or moment.
• Conclusion: This finishing section is a compelling statement about your leadership attributes and capabilities. It also shows how you hope to apply them to your life and solve other people’s problems.

Tips for Writing a Leadership Essay

Do you want tips to help you write the best leadership essays that will garner good grades? Here are tips and insights to help you compose excellent leadership essays .

Define Good Leadership First

It would be best to define good leadership before proceeding. Take time to think about the best attributes that make one a great leader. Of these qualities you have figured out, which ones do you have? Outline the qualities you demonstrated in your memorable leadership moment. These attributes could be, but aren’t limited to:

• The ability to motivate and inspire others.
• Valuing others.

Lastly, review your list and select the traits you would wish to focus on. 

Moderate Your Humility 

Humility is an invaluable virtue that needs to flow through your papers. However, don’t overdo it when highlighting your leadership moment. So, draw the line between humility and self-humiliation. Just let your readers know what you did to benefit other people’s lives—period.

Don’t Use Another Person’s Voice and Style

When highlighting your leadership abilities and experience, remember to use your personal style and voice. Admission officers want to hear your voice and “see you” in the essay. Thus, allow them to see your personality in the paper the best way you know how to put it. You can use your reasonable sense of humor without overstepping boundaries. 

Tell a Story About Your Journey 

When addressing college admission officers, use your storytelling skills to describe your leadership journey. Give them an engaging story that shows them your true leadership potential. Your story should exhibit the traits you believe are instrumental in helping you lead others. The narrative should tell the readers about the following:

• That you faced a real-life challenge.
• How you solved the problem. 
• How your leadership style and potential have grown over the years.
• Any specific challenge or moment that has helped you grow in your leadership. 

Choose a Case in Which You Played a Key Role

Your leadership doesn’t necessarily mean you are always at the help of things or people. Instead, it means that you helped solve a problem that affected others. Thus, don’t fear highlighting a moment just because you were not calling the shots. Why? Because the officials are looking for the results you helped bring to the table and not necessarily the position you occupied in the story. 

Thus, you should focus more on the improved position others found themselves in after your intervention instead of the position you occupied. Also, don’t mind more about the story’s title, especially when brainstorming. If you tell an impactful story, the title will automatically fall in place. 

Acknowledge Other People’s Contributions

We said in previous sections that you should tell the reader more about your leadership skills and journey. Up to this point, so good. However, you shouldn’t become so egoistic that you assume you aren’t an island. Your personal statement should indeed be personal, but it’s better to remember that other people still have a stake in your journey. 

So, give other people their deserved credit wherever they contributed to your success. Credit others for their loyalty, hard work, and any insights they offer. This way, you will portray your leadership as inclusive and not a one-man army that gives all the credit to one man. 

Solve Problems

Lastly, your essay should focus on solving problems. There is no point in telling a long story if it doesn’t bring out this element. Why? Because leadership essentially solves other people’s problems. If this element is missing, then you were not leading. Most likely, you were merely occupying a position or exercising authority but not leading. 

Do you remember how you solved that issue on your team amicably? Did you negotiate peace between team members whose rift was threatening to tear the team apart? Then, tell it out because that is all the admission officers are looking for in the narrative. 

Leadership Essay Example

Nothing will power your leadership writing skills like a perfect example of leadership essay . This section has three excellent excerpts from the introductions, bodies, and conclusions of leadership papers. 

• Introduction 

The floor was full of press cameras and microphones ready to capture a critical event. The venue was filled with different types of furniture, leather seats, and the who-is-who in the media industry that could change the entire media industry. Until then, I never saw myself as a leader, although I knew that this event was bigger than me, a moment that I could positively influence for the benefit of everyone present.

Gaining experience is one of the pillars of growing up in one’s leadership journey. The reason is that leadership isn’t a theory or concept captured in the heads, arguments, or counterarguments of so-called leadership gurus. Instead, it’s about practical life engagements that solve people’s problems in the real world. Thus, experience is the best tool to provide leaders with the opportunities to face and solve problems, make sound decisions, and learn from their failures and successes. All great leaders cherish such experiences and use them to grow and develop their leadership. 

• Conclusion 

In my view, leadership is about solving problems and meeting people’s needs, period. That’s the big picture, and the rest are minor details. My ability to empathize with others and give them a helping hand instead of pointing fingers at them summarizes my leadership philosophy. I hope to use this drive to be on the solution side of life, to prescribe solutions instead of just describing and decrying problems. 

Final Word 

Do you want to boost your writing skills on the topic of leadership? We’ve created this post to give you valuable and practical insights to accelerate your leadership research and writing journey. We hope you will use them to compose a perfect essay on effective leadership .

• Research Paper Writing Guides

Home — Essay Samples — Business — Effective Leadership — How To Rule The World: Effective Leadership

How to Rule The World: Effective Leadership

• Categories: Effective Leadership Leader

About this sample

Words: 1229 |

Published: Jan 29, 2019

Words: 1229 | Pages: 2 | 7 min read

Table of contents

Introduction, what makes an effective leader, the role of ethics.

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Leadership Essay for Students and Children

500+ words essay on leadership.

First of all, Leadership refers to the quality of leading people. Probably, it is one of the most important aspects of life. Above all, Leadership has led to the progress of human civilization . Without good Leadership, no organization or group can succeed. Furthermore, not everyone has this quality. This is because effective Leadership requires certain important characteristics.

Qualities of a Good Leader

First of all, confidence is the most quality. A leader must have strong self-confidence. A person lacking in confidence can never be a good leader. A person must be confident enough to ensure others follow him. The leader must have confidence in his decisions and actions. If he is unsure, then how can people have the desire to follow him.

A good leader must certainly inspire others. A leader must be a role model for his followers. Furthermore, he must motivate them whenever possible. Also, in difficult situations, a leader must not lose hope. How can a leader inspire people if he himself is hopeless?

Honesty is another notable quality of a leader. Honesty and Integrity are important to earn the love of followers. Above all, honesty is essential to win the trust of the people. Probably, every Leadership which loses trust is bound to fail. People will not work with full effort due to an immoral leader.

Good communication is a must for a good leader. This is because poor communication means the wrong message to followers. Furthermore, good communication will increase the rate of work. Also, the chances of mistakes by followers will reduce.

Another important quality is decision making. Above all, if a leader makes poor decisions then other qualities will not matter. Furthermore, good decision making ensures the success of the entire group. If the leader makes poor decisions, then the efforts of followers won’t matter.

A good leader must be an excellent innovator. He must display a creative attitude in his work. Most noteworthy, innovation is a guarantee of survival of a group or innovation. Without creative thinking, progress is not possible.

Get the huge list of more than 500 Essay Topics and Ideas

Real-Life Examples of Good Leadership

Mahatma Gandhi was an excellent example of a good leader. He was a staunch believer in non-violence. With his brilliant Leadership skills, he made the British leave India. Probably, this was the most unique independence struggle. This is because Gandhi got freedom without any violence.

Abraham Lincoln was another notable leader. Most noteworthy, he ended the slavery system in the United States. Consequently, he made many enemies. However, he was a man of massive self-confidence. His struggle against slavery certainly became an inspiration.

Sir Winston Churchill was a great patriotic Englishman. Most noteworthy, he led Britain in the 2nd World War. Furthermore, he was extremely inspirational. He inspired Britain to fight against Nazi Germany. His great communication motivated the entire country at a time of hopelessness.

To conclude, Leadership is required in probably every sphere of life. Good leadership is the door to success. In contrast, bad leadership is a guarantee of failure. Consequently, good leaders are what make the world go round.

FAQs on Leadership

Q.1 Which is the most important quality for being a good leader? A.1 The most important quality for being a good leader is self-confidence.

Q.2 Why Sir Winston Churchill is a good leader? A.2 Sir Winston Churchill is a good leader because he inspired Britain to fight in 2nd World War. Furthermore, his excellent communication also raised the motivation of his people.

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• School Leadership

How to Be a Good Leader at School

Last Updated: January 29, 2024 Fact Checked

This article was co-authored by Ashley Pritchard, MA . Ashley Pritchard is an Academic and School Counselor at Delaware Valley Regional High School in Frenchtown, New Jersey. Ashley has over 3 years of high school, college, and career counseling experience. She has an MA in School Counseling with a specialization in Mental Health from Caldwell University and is certified as an Independent Education Consultant through the University of California, Irvine. There are 10 references cited in this article, which can be found at the bottom of the page. This article has been fact-checked, ensuring the accuracy of any cited facts and confirming the authority of its sources. This article has been viewed 413,959 times.

There are many ways to be a student leader: whether it’s through student government, academic teams, athletic teams, publications, the arts, or community service. If you are highly involved in school, chances are that other students look up to you.

Taking on a Leadership Position

Being a Good Role Model

• Teachers can usually tell if you are trying your best, and so can your classmates. Make an effort to work well in groups and get along with everyone.

• Respect for authority prepares you for becoming an adult and entering the work world where you will have different types of bosses. Showing respect for adults now also shows your teachers, parents, and peers that you are a mature and confident leader. [5] X Research source

• Be sure you have a planner or agenda book to help you keep track of project deadlines. Write down each day the upcoming due dates for projects and homework for every class. [6] X Research source

• Helpful behavior extends to the halls too. If you see someone drop their books, help to pick them up. If a new student doesn’t know where certain things or rooms are, offer to help show them around.

• Being a trustworthy person is a quality of a good leader. If you say you are going to do something, do it. If you say one thing to one person but different things to someone else (known as being “two-faced”), it will be found out that you are not someone who can be trusted and, people don’t usually want a leader who they cannot trust. [8] X Research source

• Don’t play favorites with your closer friends, and don’t let your personal feelings toward someone you don’t like as much get in the way of being in a group with them. Being part of a team that is trying to accomplishing a goal means that everyone must work together; it’s not just a social gathering.
• Showing fairness is something that you will notice good teachers and parents do. They try not to take sides, and make sure that the rules apply to everyone equally. Being fair and able to work with anyone also prepares you for a work environment, where you don’t usually get to choose your co-workers.

• If your group is under lots of pressure, for instance your team just lost a big game, don’t become negative. Say things like, “we’ll get it next time” and “everyone did a great job, the other team just did a little better.” This will help your teammates know you believe in them and that they should keep trying hard. [10] X Research source

• If you notice a certain student getting picked on, stand up for them. Don’t be afraid to say, “Just leave them alone,” or something like that. It will show the students doing the bullying that you don’t think their actions are cool.
• Go out of your way to include students who don’t seem to have many friends. Invite them to participate in an activity with you and some others. Say hello to them occasionally and ask how their day is. They may hesitate at first especially if they are used to kids being not nice to them, but keep trying.

Practicing Good Leadership Qualites

• If you are in a position where you need to do public speaking, practice at home in front of a mirror. Notice your mannerisms and facial expressions while speaking. Also ask if others at home can listen to you practice your speeches and offer suggestions. Speaking to groups well takes a lot of practice – don’t get discouraged if you feel nervous or mess up the first few times. Just keep at it!
• Being a good communicator also means listening well. Take time to learn what people want and care about in your group. Be sure that everyone’s voice gets to be heard, and that you consider all opinions in the group when making decisions. [11] X Research source

• For instance, a team captain may give certain clean-up or uniform duties to teammates, or a newspaper editor gives out different article assignments for the staff to write. It’s important to rotate jobs around so that everyone gets equal responsibilities.
• Delegating responsibilities will be up to you and the rest of the group to decide. Make sure everyone feels confident about the job they’ve been given. If a person lacks confidence about a job, you and others in the group may need to work toward encouraging them and offering help and guidance.
• It is part of your job to encourage others to participate. If it feels like someone isn’t pulling their share of the work load, privately discuss this with them, and let them know you’re hoping you can count on them to contribute a little more. [12] X Research source

• It’s your job to create access to information and to supplies that you need for various projects and activities. You are essentially the liaison between the group and the adult who oversees the entire group. Not sure where to get certain props for the musical? Discuss it with the teacher director. Suspect that your team would benefit from one extra practice per week? Bring it up to the coach. [13] X Research source

• This step goes back to being a good listener. A leader sometimes needs to step back and just listen – to the complaints or the satisfactions of the group. What is working well? What needs to be changed? Just by listening you can learn a lot that can be brought up at future decision-making meetings.
• There may be uncomfortable or unexpected moments during your role as a leader. Someone may quit the group, want to make dramatic changes, or challenge your actions as the leader. How do you handle these moments? If you’re able to adapt and do your best to work it out, then you have part of what it takes to be a great leader! [14] X Research source

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• ↑ Ashley Pritchard, MA. Academic & School Counselor. Expert Interview. 4 November 2019.
• ↑ http://www.studypoint.com/ed/high-school-student-leadership/
• ↑ https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/features/the-sustainable-nonprofit/what-influences-young-americans-to-support-social-causes
• ↑ https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/respect/
• ↑ https://minutes.co/be-on-time/
• ↑ https://99u.adobe.com/articles/32883/the-most-important-skill-for-great-leaders-trustworthiness
• ↑ https://psychcentral.com/lib/become-a-better-listener-active-listening
• ↑ https://www.managementcentre.co.uk/blog/motivating-others-how-to-be-an-encouraging-leader/
• ↑ https://communityleader.com/proactive-leadership/
• ↑ https://gateleyplc.com/insight/quick-reads/why-adaptability-is-a-critical-capability-for-future-leadership/

About This Article

If you want to be a good leader at school, try making a change in your classroom or club. Remember that leaders don’t wait to be told what to do, so if you see room for improvement, work on fixing it. Make sure to communicate with your peers by sharing your ideas, and take time to listen to theirs. If you're not already involved, joining student council, sports teams, or clubs is a good step in improving your leadership. To learn how to be a good leader by being a good role model, read on! Did this summary help you? Yes No

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