This equation seems simple to anyone who has ever played sports, yet too often gets overlooked when applied to the skills and execution of leadership. Skills such as public speaking, decision making, and dealing with crisis are all things which one can be gifted to deal with by either temperament or strategic thinking, but still must be practiced to achieve a level of excellence. When was the last time you volunteered for a responsibility because you knew you needed to improve your leadership, communication or decision making skill? Most of us don’t think like that because we don’t see leadership as a set of skills, but instead a position that one attains.
Do you become a great public speaker by spending 30 hours crafting a speech? No. You become a great public speaker by giving lots and lots of speeches. So it in every area of leadership, just as in any sport. The more you see of a particular set of decisions, crisis points, the more you will become skilled in handling them.
Here’s how you do this:
1. Recognize the areas of leadership in which you have a talent.
2. Put yourself in situations where you can use this talent, practicing your leadership in this role
3. Analyze how you handled that particular leadership skill/decision
4. As soon as possible, jump right back in and try again with the knowledge you’ve gained.
