Can Leadership Skills Be Learned? The Truth, Plus 10 Powerful Competencies to Develop
Leadership skills can be learned.
Many of the world's most famous leaders -- like JFK, Steve Jobs, and Rosa Parks -- are said to have been natural born leaders. Natural born leaders appear to have come into the world with qualities like confidence, ambition, charisma and clarity of purpose.
But is leadership actually something you are born with? Did these leaders pop out of the womb with so much charisma that the doctor asked them to speak at her child’s college graduation?
Or… is leadership learned?
The answer is that leadership skills are learned. And the great news is that anyone who wants to be a leader can learn the skills.
Regardless of their natural talents and strengths, or lack thereof, if a person puts in the effort to practice the 10 skills and develop the 6 qualities in the leadership competency model that I describe in this post, they will become a highly effective leader. Period.
Unlike the capacity to excel in competitive sports, which requires certain physical qualities that are genetically inherited, leadership skills can be acquired. Leadership isn’t like basketball. You don’t need to be seven feet tall in order to be a leader.
Genetics do play a role in a person’s style of leadership. Effective leadership styles can vary widely. A big part of becoming the best leader you can be is to know your style and strengths and play to your strengths while not over emphasizing them to the detriment of other things that leaders need to do.
Leadership skills versus leadership qualities
To make the question “is leadership a learnable capacity?” relevant and useful, we need to break down the big bucket called “leadership” into smaller components.
Based on my experience in working with hundreds of teams over the past 30 years, I’ve broken leadership down into two categories: 1. skills, which are things that leaders do, and 2. qualities that leaders possess.
As you’ll discover when you read these two lists, every skill listed can be learned, and only one inherent quality on the other list may be un-learnable.
The single potentially-un-learnable quality may, however, be THE foundational quality of leadership. That quality is the desire to be a leader. And yet … if someone desires to have the desire … well, that just may be good enough! Given time, a person can develop the desire within themselves, though no one can be taught to desire leadership.
Discover your leadership archetype.
I’ve created a leadership quiz to help you determine your leadership archetype. Your archetype will reveal many of your strengths, and point to qualities and skills you may need to develop in order to become a better leader.
The 6 qualities of a great leader.
Before we jump into leadership skills – that is, what great leaders do -- I want to discuss leadership qualities that have more to do with who a person is. All of these are qualities of emotional maturity, and all (save desire -- the one noted above) can be learned.
Many people effortlessly embody certain leadership strengths, but then fall into the trap of being overly dependent on the strengths and qualities that come most naturally to them. When they do this, they may underutilize other important leadership qualities and skills that they are perfectly capable of, though not practiced in.
A person is not a stagnant being. We evolve and grow.
Quality leaders are on a path to becoming more of their true selves. As we become more self-aware, we gradually uncover the artillery of psychological defenses we’ve adopted in our lives in order to keep our egos safe and secure, and in familiar territory.
This is why it is so important for leaders to have a coach. A coach can help you see what you have been blind to in yourself (and don’t kid yourself – we ALL have blind spots!). And when you are able to see your subconscious defensive patterns (most of which you probably developed in childhood), you will likely discover that they are no longer necessary. Through working with a coach and deliberately choosing to change, you will grow into new leadership qualities.
As we gain the courage to see more of ourselves, we learn to be better leaders.
Even qualities that great leaders appear to possess innately can actually be learned!
So … what are the qualities of good, strong leaders?
#1 Self Awareness
True leaders work to understand their own blind spots so they can continually improve their ability to lead themselves and others. They know, and continually assess, their own strengths and weaknesses.
Self-awareness increases as we do our internal work, including self-reflection, deep inquiry, and working with a coach/mentor and/or a therapist. We also solicit feedback from our peers and our team.
Though some people may be more naturally self-aware than others, rigorous self-awareness is a learned trait. It doesn’t come with no effort.
#2 Confidence
Great leaders are confident without being arrogant. They are humble. They do not need to prove to themselves or others that they know everything. This type of confidence comes from knowing their own worth, without needing to be perceived a certain way by other people.
This is not to say that leaders never struggle with things like “imposter syndrome” and lack of confidence. They are human, and part of the human experience is to be unsure of oneself at times. However, great leaders are able to set aside their fears and doubts in order to lead. They have faith in themselves on a deep level.
#3 Curiosity
Good leaders ask questions. They are open-minded. They are good listeners. They do not believe they have everything figured out.
Great leaders see the world with fresh eyes. Having it all figured out would mean they’re making assumptions that may not be true, and they know this is a trap.
#4 Optimism
Leaders are believers, not cynics. They believe other people act from good intentions. They believe their projects will succeed.
Then again, some entrepreneurial leaders cannot even see the possibility of their projects failing. This is hubris, not healthy optimism. When optimism is ungrounded or unbalanced, it can be hazardous.
Still, overall, a leader must be optimistic about the future. Without this trait, no one will follow them.
#5 Courage
Good leaders take calculated risks on projects, strategies, and people. They make decisions without having all the information required for certainty.
Courage is a skill that leaders grow as they become increasingly self-aware, curious, and confident. This is because their unflinching self-examination will eventually bring them into contact with their shadows. They will need to look at themselves in ways that may not always be comfortable, and accept parts of themselves which aren’t pretty. All humans have attributes that they don’t wish to see in themselves.
It takes – and builds -- courage to look at and accept one’s full humanity, in all its messiness and glory and contradictions.
#6 Desire (to become a better leader)
This is the one leadership quality that may be very difficult to learn, because desire cannot be taught.
And yet, even here there is some evidence that desire can develop over time. I have worked with clients who had very little desire to lead others, but as we worked together they became more self-aware and self-confident, and their courage and optimism increased. Through this process, they discovered that they actually did have a desire to lead and to become better leaders.
It may be that the desire to lead correlates with the development of moral courage.
It is worth noting that the above qualities do not have a particular sequence, nor do they have cause-and-effect relationships with each other (at least none that I can point to). It isn’t like you can say, “Let me become self-aware and then I’ll be curious.” But there is a synergistic relationship between all of these qualities – as you work to develop one quality, others are also amplified.
The 10 leadership skills of effective leaders.
Now that we’ve covered the qualities that good leaders have, let’s get into leadership skills – the things that good leaders do.
#1 Generate shared purpose
Purpose motivates, and having a shared purpose brings a team together. It gives the team a common goal and helps them stay aligned.
A good leader also knows how to discover an individual’s purpose by building trust with their team members and having conversations to discover each person’s cherished ambitions in life. They look for ways to meld the purpose of their project, organization, or team with the individual’s goals whenever possible.
#2 Provide structure and clarity
High-performing teams have clear roles, responsibilities, values, objectives, and a strategy to accomplish their goals. It is up to the leader of the team to provide this structure and to communicate it plainly to the team.
Without structure and clarity, team members will wonder where they stand. They will discuss their confusion and uncertainty with each other. They will spend cycles worrying and wondering instead of getting to the necessary work.
#3 Defend alignment
High-performing organizations and teams are aligned on the business model, core values, vision, strategy and behaviors of the team. Without alignment, resources are often and easily wasted.
It is the leader's job to uphold and defend alignment by first being aligned themselves to the stated model, values, vision, behaviors, and strategy. They must invite others into the team with an eye towards filtering out people who will not or cannot be aligned.
Once an agreed-upon alignment is explicitly articulated, a good leader can refer to the elements of the alignment when giving constructive feedback to team members. Then feedback no longer needs to be personal. Instead, the conversation can focus on how important it is for the team to be aligned on something, and how the demonstrated undesirable behavior is out of alignment with the team’s stated objectives or values.
For example, if someone is constantly late to meetings, and a team value is respect for teammates, there is an opportunity to re-align this person around the value of respect. Once this is done, the tardy team member will see for themselves how they are out of alignment with this value when they consistently show up late for meetings.
#4 Communicate authentically
Good leaders demonstrate a high degree of consistency between what they say and what they do. They take care not to say things that they are not able to back up or model personally. They come across as genuine, honest, and forthright. They don’t hide bad news, and they are free with praise and appreciation when it is warranted. This strengthens their team’s trust in them, and a team that trusts its leader is an unstoppable force.
As someone with authority, it can be difficult to be open and vulnerable. Your team relies on you to be strong so they can feel confident and safe. However, saying “I don’t know” or “I don’t have all the answers” can inspire trust, innovation, and creativity within the team. Saying “I don’t know” leaves space for others to step up, and builds a more collaborative culture. It reinforces the importance of the team, and implicitly acknowledges that no one person needs to have everything figured out perfectly.
When leaders try to appear flawless and invincible to their team members, this tends to create an environment where people are hesitant to be open about their own challenges, and afraid to ask for help or take risks. Then creativity and growth are inhibited, not only for individual team members, but for the team as a whole.
#5 Model collaboration
Creative teams that know how to build on each other’s ideas produce more innovative work, deliver more profitable projects, and are generally much happier!
As I mentioned above, collaboration requires leaders to drop the pose that they have it all figured out. They don’t. By making space for collaboration, they allow the team to step up. Great leaders ask others for their opinions. They slow down and give others space to provide alternate points of view. They listen fully, and take in alternative points of view before jumping back in with their own ideas.
#6 Make tough decisions
Leaders can be collaborative, but at the end of the day, someone needs to make a final decision. Imagine if you have a team of six. Three people are in favor of taking on a new client and three see red flags with the client and believe the team and organization will suffer if they accept this client.
It is up to you to listen to the opinions of everyone, but then you must decide. It can be helpful to have predetermined decision criteria for certain types of decisions, and it can also help to review your shared purpose and values. But it is up to you to make the decision and make it in a timely fashion. Your team needs and expects this from you.
It is also a good idea to tell your team why you made the decision you did.
#7 Influence others
Leaders provide direction and influence others to get on board with that direction.
There are many ways to influence others. You may be naturally charismatic, which can be quite helpful when you’re trying to influence people. However, if you are not naturally charismatic, that is also fine. You simply need to find a way of influencing others that fits your personality.
For example, if you are naturally quiet, you can employ a collaborative approach to gaining consensus (see Model Collaboration above). If you are highly logical, you can show people how they can live their purpose when they join forces with the team’s purpose (see Generate Shared Purpose above). There are many, many ways to influence others, using your natural gifts and genuine personality. Just trust yourself and maybe apply a bit of imaginative thinking.
What you don’t want to do is to try to be someone you are not (see Communicate Authentically).
#8 Create brave space
“Brave space” is where team members feel psychologically safe enough to venture out of their comfort zones, where they can speak their truths and engage in open dialogue without fear of negative repercussions.
Absent brave space, people won’t take risks. They will hide and protect themselves. This leads to less trust and lower morale within the team. It also hinders creative thinking and innovation. Without a place where people feel safe to speak up, the team is not as effective.
As a leader, it important to allow people a safe place to “fail,” to be incorrect, or even a bit “off the wall.” One way to do this is to have “fail fast” as a stated value on the team, and to uphold alignment to this value.
A good leader encourages team members to offer any and all ideas in good faith, and not to judge either their own or others’ ideas harshly. The effective leader consistently points out how “failures” have led to valuable learning for the team, and keeps feedback focused on the work, not the individual persons who present the ideas.
#9 Develop others
Employees don’t come to organizations fully formed, and good employees desire professional and personal growth. Strong leaders take the time to create individualized growth plans and objectives with their team members. They realize that a true mark of their leadership is when their team members become leaders too.
In high-performing teams, leaders and team members alike contribute to the growth of the team by providing direct and productive feedback. Leaders are open to receiving feedback as well as giving it. Good leaders discover what each team member’s strengths and weaknesses are, and they provide opportunities for their team to stretch and grow into leaders themselves.
#10 Learn continually
Good leaders are consistent learners who seek to understand their impact and blind spots in order to continually improve.
Great leaders have a coach because they realize they cannot see their own blind spots.
They seek feedback from their team about the impact they are having. They are skeptical when they only hear positive feedback, because they know that they always have room for improvement.
They are also continually learning about their industry and their craft.
In Summary
All of the above leadership skills are learnable. It is more about what you do than who you were born as. So my answer to the question “Can leadership be learned?” is a resounding yes!
One of the key learnings is to be yourself, because people can tell when you are not communicating authentically or are putting on some kind of act in your role as leader.
You don’t have to master each skill above all at once. Pick one or two and work on those. Hire a coach to help you see your blind spots.
And, to start, take my leadership archetype quiz to get some tips on leadership skills you can start practicing right away.
About me:
I’m Monica Borrell. I’m a leadership coach who works with leaders and teams in order to elevate the team into a highly productive force that innovates faster, communicates more effectively, and rises together within a shared culture where everyone thrives.
If you are a leader and would like support with improving your own leadership competencies or those of your team, you can apply for a complimentary strategy session with me.