Leadership a-z: S is for Skills

Wordle Created by Jennifer Britton at Wordle.com (1/14)

Over the last few months I've blogged on a variety of topics as we've moved through the Leadership A-Z - Prioritization to Kick off Meetings, Motivation to Delegation. Today's post is all about the range of skills needed for leaders. This, of course, is the tip of the iceberg. Here is a listing of some of the core skills needed for front-line leaders and above:
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Team Leadership skills including

• Listening
• Communication
• Conflict Resolution
• Holding Difficult Conversations
• Relationship Building
• Emotional Intelligence
• Building trust and respect
• The ability to work flexibly and compromise
• The skill of influence
• and Collaboration

Check out one of my other projects this year which is the Teams 365 blog - daily tips, quotes and questions for each day of 2014 for teams and team leaders.

In addition to the skills listed above, additional skills for leaders are:

• Strategic thinking
• Technical Skills
• Administrative skills - budgeting, reporting, project management, financial management
• Stakeholder management (which may be part of relationship building)
• Change Management
• Leading through Uncertainty 

Activity:
Take stock of the skills you are using on a regular basis. Consider these questions:

•  What are the top five skills that you would include each and every day or week? 
• Which ones do you use less frequently? 
• As you consider team members or others who are being developed as leaders for the future, what skills do you think are going to be essential in their roles?
• What development activities will support you in enhancing your skills this year (training, studies, readings, conferences, mentoring, leadership, other?)

Have a great week,
Jennifer

Jennifer Britton, MES, CPT, PCC
Author of From One to Many: Best Practices for Team and Group Coaching (Jossey-Bass, 2013)

Potentials Realized  - Leadership and Team Development | Coaching |  Retreats

Supporting teams and organizations through enhanced conversation and skills, more focused results to do their best work.

(416)996-TEAM (8326)

As an author, Jennifer Britton is known for her thought leadership in the area of group and team coaching. She is also a former leader and team builder who spent the first 13 years of her career working within the United Nations as well as the international aid sector. From Boardroom to jungle, beach and forest to mountains, Jennifer has worked to develop teams and leaders in more than 18 countries, and virtually many more. She founded Potentials Realized in 2004 and focuses on leadership, teamwork and coaching skills training.