It's easy to discount the importance of leadership development, assuming that corporateleaders either have what they take or they don't and if they do they'll learnas they go. If they don't...well, if they didn't have what it took they wouldn'thave been given a leadership role to begin with, right?


Not necessarily. Sometimes all that's needed is a little leadership development.


There is no such thing as a natural born leader, which iswhy leadership development is so important. Anyonecan have the fundamental requirements necessary for the leadership role. It'show they develop them that matters.


Leadership development is defined as an effort to enhancea learner's ability to lead, an endeavor focused on developing the leadershipabilities and attitudes of the individuals sitting at the top of the chain ofcommand. Successful leadership development requires alot more than the ability to give orders. It also requires diplomacy, top of the line people skills, a certain level ofruthlessness and an understanding of how much space there is and there isn'tbetween the executive suite and the mail room. A good leader doesn't just lead.He or she leads by example.


Leadership development within a company should beaddressed at both the individual and group level. Individual leadership development can be undertaken in both hands onand a classroom environment, and which method your organization chooses isentirely up to you. Through various exercises the individual learns to identifytheir strengths and weaknesses, using both toshape and mold their successful leadership style.


Individual leadership developmentis very important for individuals first entering the field and those who arehaving a difficult time taking up the reins of command. Additional leadership development offers them the opportunity to honetheir skills, smooth over their weaknesses and learn to make the most of theircurrent position rather than finding themselves stuck on the bottom rung of theladder to success because of a lack of knowledge and personal resources.


Group leadership development isabsolutely vital in any company, regardless of industry, because it teaches executiveteams how to look, think and act like a team. For a business to run smoothly it'sessential that the executive team be able to operate like a well-oiled wheel,cognizant of each other's patterns, strengths, weaknesses and goals and able towork together to achieve success. Any leadership team that is rapidly "slapped"together and tossed into the ring is going to fail almost instantly. It takestime and practice, and leadership development offersthe opportunity for both.


Leadership development through books, activities,conferences and classroom studies is a vital part of any company's success,which is why there are hundreds of books, seminars, conferences, workshops,boot camps and personal coaches devoted to that very goal. Never underestimatethe importance of the team of people holding the reins in an organization, anddon't discount the need to allow those individuals to develop their leadershipskills both inside and out of the office.


Leadership matters.


Author Resource: Ray Subs is a public relations consultantfor N2Growth, a company that specializes in helping businesses and theirleaders grow and develop to find success in a competitive corporateenvironment. More information can be found at &sec=article&uinfo=<%=server.URLEncode(1830)%>" target="_blank" title="http://www.n2growth.com">http://www.n2growth.com


Article fromZing Articles - BestFree Articles on all topics