Good leaders are in short supply.

         They are not born. Leadership is principally a behavioral skill and can be learned.

         We should be selecting ambitious people and training them to lead.

         Tomorrow’s leaders will be the ones with a broad vision, who are good communicators and have a social conscience. They will be people who can run successful meetings, who can select a team of good people to support them, who can delegate responsibilities, and who have learned how to manipulate the media.  

         This is how I would go about building self-confidence leaders.

A Handful of Tips to produce teams of leaders

* Select early, and start young

         Recruit ambitious school prefects and sports captains. (Rural youth seem to have more initiatives than city youth due to their environment but city-trained pupils may have had a better education.)

* Challenge them

         Give them challenging training.

         Send them off to do a training course at Outward Bound or something similar such as to do a Duke of Edinburgh Hillary Award. This would help build their self-confidence.

* Encourage them to join organizations

         Persuade them to take a leading role in group activities – it could be sporting, cultural or educational it doesn’t matter. Learning to deal with other people is very important.

* Identify leading organizations

         Arrange for candidates to work in and study successful organizations – it doesn’t matter whether they are commercial, or government Departments.

         Ask them to report on why they are more successful than rival groups. What do they do differently? How do the leaders treat and involve their workers?

* Communication skills are important

         Join a strong Toastmasters International club and take office positions. This would improve their speaking, meeting, and communication skills.

         You don’t have to go to a university to become a leader. It’s a matter of learning new skills and building your self-confidence.

Geoffrey Moss(mossassociates.co.nz)

” The key to leadership is to accept responsibility. “