Lisa Beaman on Leadership and Professional Skill Development

Leadership is all around us. Sometimes it’s very obvious: there’s a clear-cut leader who is influencing and guiding a group of people. Sometimes, however, Leadership is more subtle. This happens when we lead and influence others, even when we are not in a leadership position.

Leadership and professionalism go hand in hand. A skilled professional will know how to guide and influence their peers, their supervisors, as well as their subordinates. Leadership and professionalism, however, are not always strengths that come naturally. Instead, these are skills that can be taught, learned, and developed.

In my professional life, I work in a very leadership oriented setting. In this environment, my job is to recruit potential leaders and guide them through an intentionally developmental internship program where they will gain leadership and spiritual development as well as interpersonal and professional skills.

The goal is to give these future leaders a well rounded foundation so that they can transfer what they learn and become leaders wherever they go in the future. It’s been an incredible experience to witness the growth of these young adults as they gain these leadership and professional skills.

As the director of this fast paced and dynamic program, I have been able to hone in on my own leadership and professional skills. The lessons I have learned in regards to self-awareness, leading up, servant leadership, building a team of leaders, as well as job hunting skills and creating changes in the workplace are ones that I will gladly share with my readers here on HubPages.

What about you? What type of leader have you become? Or what type of leader would like to become? If you are interested in developing your own leadership skills, I invite you to read the hubs that have been outlined in the leadership section below. If you are more interested in developing your professional skills or are seeking a professional position, you might find the professional skill section extremely helpful.

Effective leadership requires many skills. Interpersonal skills, conflict resolution, vision casting, active listening, and communication all work together to form dynamic leaders. There is one skill, however, that is often overlooked and yet this is the very skill that is at the core of leadership. Every leader must have a finely tuned sense of self-awareness. How aware are you about your own strengths, weaknesses, motives, and passions? Knowing these things about yourself will make an incredible impact on your leadership and influence of others. Be sure to read Basic Leadership: Improve Your Self Awareness Skills to see how self-awareness can boost your leadership.

Many leaders acquire followers. Effective leaders, however, build other leaders by creating a healthy leadership environment. These effective leaders know their influence will only extend so far. Building up leaders instead of acquiring followers is the best way to multiply effectiveness towards success. If you are a leader that seeks to develop your team and inspire them to improve and succeed read, Building a Team of Leaders: Develop Leadership Effectiveness for some helpful guidelines towards creating a leadership environment in which your team will have the opportunities to thrive.

What does it mean to be a servant leader? How can one become a servant leader in our society today when everyone seems to do whatever it takes to get ahead? A servant leader, however, strives to be counter-cultural in his effectiveness. This form of leadership centers around the idea that the leader serves the ones he leads. What type of leader do you want to become? Read Leadership Development: Servant Leader Concepts to help you become an effective servant leader and will give you a plan to put servant leadership concepts into action.

How can someone be a powerful servant leader? Isn’t that a contradiction of terms? Servant leaders, however, have come to understand that there is great power in serving the ones they lead. Instead of pushing others to the side or sacrificing them to get ahead, the servant leader multiplies his effectiveness by inspiration and influence. He becomes a leader that others want to follow. If you’d like to learn more about increasing the power in your leadership, read Leadership: Powerful Benefits of Servant Leader Characteristics.

As mentioned above, leadership doesn’t only come from the one in charge. Real leadership, real influence can happen in any level on the org chart. How effective do you lead those around you? What about those above you? Learning how to lead up to your own leader or supervisor involves some strategy and leadership skills. Knowing the concepts of Leading up or upward leadership will go a long way increasing your influence. If you need to gain influence among your leaders, take some time to read Upwards Leadership: Leading Up to Your Leader for some practical steps towards creating your own leading up strategy.

There’s a lot of competition out there in the job market. What can you do to stand out and compete in today’s economy? If you are searching for employment, you will need to work hard to shine bright and maintain a competitive edge. Don’t make common mistakes and find yourself fading into the background while others get the jobs you want. Read What’s Next? Job Hunting tips for College Grads to learn how to stand out and get noticed.

You did it! You just landed the job that you’ve been working so hard to attain. While you may be able to let out a deep sigh of relief, it’s not quite time to relax just yet. Now that you’ve gotten the job, you’ll need to put forth some effort toward keeping it. Many new employees make very costly mistakes early in their new positions. Now that you’ve started your new job, read Now What? Tips for Success for New Employees to learn how you can make the right impression and jump start your success in the workplace.

Successful people know that talent alone won’t bring true or long-lasting success. Talent can be the starting point, but determination, perseverance, and patience are the qualities that will take that talent to the next level. Do you rely on talent alone or are you willing to put in the hard work it takes to succeed in the long run? Read Who Will Succeed? Talent, Hard Work, and Success for some inspiration to find your own path to achievement.

Working toward improving our leadership skills and professional abilities is an ongoing process. We can all learn something new or continue to develop in our current areas of strength. If you are seeking to improve your leadership or professionalism, I hope you take some time to read some of the hubs outlined above.

If you enjoyed this hub or found it helpful, please be sure to vote it up. I would love to hear from you in the comment section below how you have been able to put your own leadership skills and professionalism to good use. Thanks for reading!