15 Minutes a Day

Posted by Wayne Lambert (@FastWebProfits) on Twitter.com: “The only real training for leadership is leadership.” – Anthony Jay

I saw the quote above posted on Twitter when I did a search for the term Leadership and it got me thinking. Leadership is a skill that, like all other skills from knitting a sweater to becoming a star athlete to sculpting a statue, needs to be practiced. This requires that anyone who wants to be a leader put themselves into leadership situations. This can be a scary prospect, but each instance of leadership has the potential to:

• Add new skills
• Teach new life lessons
• Expose the leader to different personality types
• Make network connections
• Add another line to the leader’s résumé
• Prove initiative to current and future employers

So, how does one go about “practicing” leadership? The first step is to look for leadership opportunities in a job, in social organizations, and in the community. Leadership openings abound in our lives. All someone has to do is step up and take the chance to succeed… or fail.

Example of Leadership on the Job:

In my own job I am an instructor. I provide direction to people who are both eager to learn something new and afraid to fail at something new. Each interaction with my students – both in class and one-on-one – is an opportunity to practice leadership by instilling knowledge and confidence in my coworkers. Even though I am not managing them, I am leading them. I don’t get everything right in every situation. That is why it’s called practice…

Example of Leadership in Social Organizations:

In July of 2008 I joined Good-to-Great Toastmasters so I could practice becoming a better public speaker. What I didn’t realize at the time was that I would also have opportunities to become a better leader as well. At the first chance I became Vice President of Public Relations and the club Webmaster. Before I knew it, I was also becoming involved with a new Toastmasters club (GO Speakers!) at work. I became VP of PR and club Webmaster in that club and was also asked to be the club’s Mentor. I jumped at the chance because of the added leadership practice it would provide me…

Example of Leadership in the Community:

I am a graduate student working on my doctoral degree through the University of Phoenix. In this case, my community is comprised of other doctoral students from around the world (literally). We attend classes online and each have different backgrounds and experiences. We each take turns as team project leaders and provide each other with different perspectives. We influence one another’s ideas and aid one another’s research. Each project is an opportunity for each of us to learn to follow or lead others…

Now it’s Your Turn:

How do you practice leadership in your life? What opportunities have you taken to improve your leadership skills? By sharing your experiences, you may give others some ideas about how to continue to practicing leadership skills.

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