To lead is to inspire not only others but to inspire oneself. The followers need to vicariously ingest the leaders passion. Therefore, processes, though important, rank far below human factor that is key to successful leadership. Leadership must allow penalty-free rule-breaking. Leaders must focus on service not on being the boss. In this manner, the followers gain a sense of ownership/involvement/control that enables them to extend the reach of their leader.

Effective leadership is about asking or requesting a person to do something, not commanding them. Effective leaders make recommendations to follow. Effective leaders are willing to get their hands dirty. Effective leadership is contagious. Effective leadership is the basis of a successful organization. It inspires and motivates others to take on mighty challenges.

A leader may be have strong analytic thinking skills, personal integrity and the ability to work with ambiguity. However, if he/she cannot learn how to connect these attributes seamlessly to achieve results, then they are meaningless. Effective leadership cannot always be popular. Sometimes the effective leader has to cut some of the team loose despite his/her personal feelings about these individuals.

Thus, all leadership development is not worthwhile. The market is overrun with questionable program designs and management fads. Research show that the number of training programs approaches 4 million. However, trainees typically retain less than 15% of what is learned and the trainee usual returns working the same way. This may stem from two reasons: the trainee is afraid that new approaches to leadership will not be well received by his organization or the culture of the organization is not very open to change, despite encouraging their employees to enroll in leadership training courses.

Organizations wishing to implement an effective Leadership Development Program may like to follow these steps. Organize and execute around priorities. Think Win/Win: See life as a cooperative, not a comprehensive arena where success is not achieved at the expense or exclusion of the success of others.