Leadership

Leadership Training Course

Gain Skills In Leadership By Distance Learning

Leadership skills are needed in all facets of our society: business, politics, religion, youth services, and leisure industries, to mention only some. This course is relevant to all of those areas, developing your understanding of, and capacity to apply leadership skills.

• Improve work productivity, improve sporting performance, or help people achieve their goals in life by being a being a better leader.
• Learn about communications, relationships, approaches to thinking, team building and much more.
• Develop your skills and knowledge to manage with authority - "positive leadership enables things to happen".

Lesson Structure

There are 7 lessons in this course:

1. Introduction to Leadership (nature and scope of leadership)
   • Defining Leadership
   • Leadership and Group Culture
   • Leadership & Accountability
   • Theories of Leadership
   • Leadership Styles
   • Situational Leadership
   • Contingency Theories
   • Style Theories
   • Informal Leadership
   • Inspirational Leadership
   • Path Goal Theory
   • Instrumental Theories
   • Four Framework Leadership Model
   • Scope of Leadership
   • Leader Responsibilities
   • Sources of Power for a Leader
   • Professional Leadership
2. Leadership Characteristics/Qualities
   • Good Leader Characteristics
   • Leadership Potential
   • Emotionally Intelligent Leadership
   • Cognitive Barriers to Leadership
   • Nature vs Nurture: Leader Qualities
   • Self Assessment
3. Interpersonal Relationships
   • Interpersonal Skills
   • Empathy
   • Influencing Others
   • Perception
   • Self Knowledge
   • The Thought, Feeling, Action Cycle
   • Developing Self Awareness
   • Self Disclosure
   • Assertiveness
4. Communication Skills
   • The Communication Process
   • Body Language
   • Basic Principles of Communication
   • Factors Affecting Effective Communication
   • Awareness
   • Intent
   • Listening
   • Providing Feedback
   • Paraphrasing
   • Reflective Responses
   • Summarizing
   • Preventing Ineffective Listening
   • Open Questions
   • Communication Barriers
5. Team Building
   • Benefits of Teams
   • Elements of a Team
   • Establishing a Team
   • Types of Team Members (Collaborators, Communicators, Challengers, Contributors
   • Team Leadership
   • Team Leader Responsibilities
   • Decision Making in Teams
6. Systematic and Lateral Thinking
   • Metacognition
   • Perception Formation
   • Bases for Perception
   • Information and Perception Formation
   • Gestalt Theory & Patterns of Perception
   • Schemas
   • Perception Formation Implications for a Leader
   • Lateral Thinking
   • Win-Win Negotiation
   • Systematic Thinking
   • Legal Liability
7. Applications
   • Explain the significance of leadership for a specific project or event.
   • Identify the role and tasks of leadership, in the same project.
   • Integrate factual information with theoretical information to derive a sensible solution to a leadership problem in a sensible timeframe in the same project.
   • Plan the development and building of the team to achieve these aims in the same project.
   • Plan actions for sustaining and motivating the team to achieve the aims.
   • Provide information on the plan of action to organize the event.

Each lesson culminates in an assignment which is submitted to the school, marked by the school's tutors and returned to you with any relevant suggestions, comments, and if necessary, extra reading.

Aims

• Describe the nature and scope of Leadership.
• Determine the qualities which are required in a leader, in different leadership situations, including the workplace, recreation industries and developmental applications.
• Manage interpersonal relationships in support of effective leadership.
• Communicate leadership messages effectively to those you lead.
• Explain methods that may be used for effective team building by a leader.
• Select appropriate thought processes to follow in order to deal with different leadership problems.
• Lead teams through innovative and creative processes

Leadership is Relevant at Work, Home and Play

Leaders are needed, and found in all aspects of our daily life, from the workplace to the school ground; and from the social club to government. When Leadership is good, there is an increased probability of things being achieved with greater efficiency, and a higher level of satisfaction among all concerned. Good leadership is however not something a person is born with.

Certain personal traits, such as self confidence, may give some an advantage over others; but effective leadership requires more than simply a forceful personality that is capable of dominating everyone else.

• A leader is not the same as a manager or supervisor.
• Managers and supervisors are able to cause things to happen because they have the legal authority to enforce orders.
• Leaders do not cause things to happen because of any legal authority.

People follow leaders of their own free will; and leadership skills are those skills that allow a leader to effectively communicate with, and influence the actions of their followers Leadership contributes to order, motivates productivity, and influences the way in which resources (human and material) are used. Leaders are people who are in a position of power, and who use that position to influence the environment in which they abide, and the others who share that environment.

• Positive leadership enables things to happen. The leader in effect influences the environment in a way that encourages certain actions.
• Negative leadership disables things from happening.

Tips From Our Tutors For Team Leadership

The team leader is responsible for several key tasks:

• Create a vision. A vision is the most important part of making a team successful.  If a team cannot see what they are doing and why, it will fail to succeed. Motivate the team by encouraging fulfilment of goals, encourage them to be successful.
• Maintain the relevance and meaningfulness of goals, purpose and approach.  Teams need to shape their own goals, approach and purpose.  The leader is a working member of the team who must also contribute, but he/she will also stand apart from the team as the leader.  The team will expect the leader to use that objectivity and distance to help them clarify their goals, mission and purpose.  A leader should lead by example and ensure the team gets the job done!
• Develop commitment and confidence. Leaders should try to develop the confidence and commitment of the team and individuals within the team.  To be an effective leader, you need to be vigilant about the skills the team members possess, ensuring that members have the sufficient technical, problem solving and decision making skills.
• Encourage members to take risks. Shift their tasks and roles to challenge them to get out of their comfort zone and into the learning zone, but not so far that they enter the fear zone.

Maintain relationships with non-team members. Team leaders are expected to maintain relationships with people inside and outside the team and organization and to effectively communicate the goals, purpose and approach of the team to people who are interested.  A team leader also needs the strength to stand up for the team if there are obstacles or criticism that may demoralise them. 

Give opportunities to others. A team leader needs to provide opportunities for team members to perform and achieve success experiences that will develop their confidence and their commitment to the team project.  Ensure you share all opportunities so that the team can all develop

Other Team Leader Responsibilities

Teaching

The Leader should have the ability and desire to instruct, interpret information and in general, broaden the participant's horizons.

Generating enthusiasm

The Leader should enthuse the participants in whatever they are doing.

Planning

This is of major importance.  The leader is responsible to see that activities and programs are properly planned and prepared for. The Leader should not necessarily do the planning so much as ensure that it is done.

Counselling

The Leader should be sensitive to individual problems and feelings; and should be supportive of the individual in need.

Addressing individual needs

The leader should consider how the team can meet key factors that will enhance individual participation in group processes. These are the need to feel included in the group, the need to feel accepted and valued within the group, and the need to exercise a degree of control over one’s participation while conforming to group processes. (This latter may be addressed by allowing members to do tasks that they are competent in or that they find challenging and interesting).

Promoting and meeting the needs and interests of the organisation

The leader can do this  by enhancing communication between the team and others in the organisations and establishing criteria that protect the organisation’s interests.

Creating a trusting environment

A team culture of trust encourages cooperation, innovation and communication, whereas a culture of no trust encourages individual competitiveness, secrecy, excuse-making and timidity. A trusting environment allows individuals to question the status quo, to freely share ideas, and to make mistakes. It rewards initiative and effort rather than agreement; it teaches so that mistakes become learning opportunities; it rewards constructive feedback and conflict resolution rather than avoiding conflict.

Evaluation

The success or failure of programs or tasks should be evaluated both during the project and at the end. Appropriate changes made in planning further progress or future projects.

Organisation

Groups should be organised for the best possible level of accomplishment.

Managing resources

A leader should provide or insure access to the resources needed to complete the project.  This is sometimes restricted by money available, but the leader should always do the best with whatever resources at his/her disposal.

Let This Course Help You To Become An Effective Leader

Leadership skills are needed in all facets of our society:

• Business

• Politics,

• Religion,

• Youth services

• Leisure industries

• To mention only some!