Life Can Be the Best Leadership Teacher

In my last post I talked about the importance of strong mentors in life. You can learn so much from good mentors -- especially in the area of leadership. However, the opportunity to learn leadership skills comes to us in many different ways throughout our life.

I was reminded about this today when I spoke to the leader of my son's Student Ambassador program. If you are not familiar with the Student Ambassador program, it was started in 1956 by Dwight D. Eisenhower to promote world peace through personal contacts. The program allows high school students who are selected for the program to travel to other countries and learn more about their cultures and interact with their citizens to promote cultural education.

My son has traveled through Italy, France and will be heading to the U.K. in a few days. My daughter participated in a trip with the Student Ambassadors to Ireland, England, Scotland and Wales a few years ago. This is a wonderful experience for these kids who get to participate. The benefits to these kids will last a lifetime and create memories they will cherish forever.

Today my son is in Paris and we talked to one of his leaders. She was so complimentary of him and how wonderful of a kid he is. How he is liked by everyone and has been such a positive influence on the group. In essence, she was saying that he is acting like a leader and helping to make his experience and those of people he interacts with positive as well. She went on and on about how he has helped others and offered to do things for them. Of course, I couldn't be more proud of him and there might just be a little bit of bragging going on here ... hopefully you can understand.

After this conversation I started thinking about her comments and how what she was describing were the traits of a leader. The fact is, the opportunity to learn leadership skills and practice them is around us all the time. Whenever you are in a situation with others you get to choose how you will react. Whether you are traveling, planning an event, visiting another city or country or even attending a family reunion, you get the opportunity to practice leadership skills. In groups people are always looking for someone to lead. Take advantage of these opportunities to practice how to create an environment where everyone feels important and welcomed and creates an environment of cooperation.

As a business owner, you can create this same work environment in your business. Be conscious of your actions and how you are reacting with your team to make them feel appreciated, a part of the team and motivated to do their best. Take the lead and others will follow.

by Dennis A. Kelley
Author of Achieving Unlimited Success