1

1. Introduction
Every organization looks for individuals with proper leadership skills at every level
because the success lies in the hands of an effective leader.
Leadership is:
i.

the ability to direct and guide the activities of a group of people, stimulate to work

ii.

together as a team, motivate them towards a common goal,

the ability to get others to willingly follow and provide feedback to them regarding their

iii.
iv.

performance,
the art of creating confidence in oneself and in the organization, and
the process whereby a leader influences a group of individuals towards achieving a
common goal.
An effective leadership is measured by the success of the team that a leader leads. A

successful team works efficiently together and has high productivity. Leadership is nothing
but the skills and qualities which make a person stand out from others.
Nowadays, everyone needs to analyze, refine and apply leadership skills such as
decision-making skills through family, community, classroom, business, and different
situations. These skills empower each student to assume responsible roles in the family,
community, school, business, and other environments.
Moreover, as young people have to involve in activities that require applying theory,
problem-solving and using critical thinking skills while understanding the outcomes of
related decisions, the need for leadership skills has become more and more essential.
1.1 Aim and Objectives
The aim and objectives of this term-paper are as follows:
-

to demonstrate leadership skills that assist in understanding and accepting

responsibility of family, community, business, and industry

to understand the leadership skills necessary to be a successful leader and to practise

those skills in real life

to guide ones own leadership behaviour and learning
to be able to communicate and participate effectively in pairs, small groups, teams,
and large groups in order to reach common goals

to participate in the development of a program of work to implement the goals by

applying leadership skills.
2. Literature Review
2.1 Are Leaders made or born?
This question seems to be confusing, yet the answer is quite clear. The news

announced the birth of a leader has never been read or heard. Yet, the obituaries of leaders
can be read in any newspaper. This simple analysis shows that no one is born with leadership
skills and therefore leaders must be made. Everyone can become a good leader by learning,
doing and improving the skills of leadership.
2.2 Youths and the Need for Leadership
Every youth has the chance to be anyone and anything. A youths potential is
limitless. This potential exists in all parts of ones life, including ones potential to be a truly
remarkable leader. The skills of leadership are transferable across all the roles in all parts of
ones life at school, at work, in community, and even at home. Youths have unique gifts that
they were born with and personal strengths they have developed over their lifetime. Realizing
and utilizing these gifts and strengths as well as working hard to develop and improve
additional skills will assist them in being good leaders in their lives.
2.3 Good Leaders
A good leader can motivate and inspire those around them to strive to achieve much
more than they thought they could. The position of a good leader is indispensable. A good
leader has the knack to align his followers and prepare them to take on any challenge that
may lie in their path towards success. Leaders have certain characteristics and leadership
qualities that distinguish them from the crowd. Effective leadership skills are a must for
anyone who wishes to achieve respect as a leader. If a person desires to lead an inspired team,
he has to incorporate a number of skills which will help him live his life as a conscious and
strong leader. A leader can be found and nurtured if he looks for and applies these skills.
These are certain strengths and skills a person needs to capitalize on to be able to execute
effective leadership.
2.4 Leadership vs. Management

To fully understand what leadership is all about, it is important to appreciate the

difference between leadership and management.
Leadership is the ability to empower others to create new management or human
systems to efficiently achieve change through organizational goals and decision making.
Likewise, management is the use of various means to carry on business functions. In other
words, management is the skill of dealing with things or resources, while leadership is the art
of dealing with people. Leaders innovate and originate whereas managers administer and
imitate. While leaders develop and inspire, managers maintain and control. Besides, leaders
have long-term view, vision. On the other hand, managers only have short-term view.
Nevertheless, good management is impossible without appropriate leadership.
2.5 Leadership Skills in general
There are several significant leadership skills that a successful leader possesses. They
are:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.
vi.
vii.
viii.
ix.
x.

Influence
Motivation
Vision
Goal setting
Creativity
Integrity
Building relationships
Equipping
Delegation
Positive Attitude
i.

Influence

The ability to influence others and cause them to move in a particular direction is a
highly important skill in leadership. In fact, leadership is often defined as the ability to
persuade or influence others to do something they might not have done without the leaders
persuasion. The ability to be persuasive is directly related to how much people trust a leader
and how effective his communication and relationships are.
ii.

Motivation

Motivation is the energy and desire to work towards a specific goal. It is important to
ensure that the followers want to work hard and want to achieve the teams goals. A key part
of the leadership role is to motivate the followers. A good leader should know how to get the

work done from his team. He should be able to make his team a part of his vision. In addition,
giving the followers the opportunity to make progress keeps them motivated.
iii.

Vision

True leadership involves the development of a vision. A good leader must be future
orientated and must set a clear idea where his team is going beyond the future. Moreover, a
leader should have a clear vision of what he wants his team to look like after a few years. But
a vision is not enough. He should also be able to create a pathway in order to get his vision
seen, implemented and contributed to by his followers. He needs to know what steps he has
to take to accomplish his vision. He also needs to ensure that his followers too, share the
vision and the entire organization is motivated enough to fulfil this shared vision.
iv.

Goal setting

Goal setting is indeed a very important first step on the path to becoming an effective
leader. Goals, that a leader sets, must be highly desirable and believable, i.e., the followers
must really want those goals and really believe that to achieve them is possible. They should
also be specific, measurable, challenging, and realistic enough to be attainable to get the best
out of oneself and the others. A leader should take care that the approach for the
accomplishment of the goals is in the right direction and provide the followers with necessary
resources.
v.

Creativity

It is the ability to think differently, to get outside of the box that constrains solutions.
Creativity gives leaders the ability to see things that others have not seen and thus lead
followers in new directions.
vi.

Integrity

Integrity is the integration of outward actions and inner values. A person of integrity is
the same on the outside and on the inside. Such an individual can be trusted. Integrity
promotes trust. A leader must display integrity since the emotional half of trust relates to
integrity. Honest dealings, predictable reactions and well-controlled emotions are all signs of
integrity.
vii.

Building relationships

To gain loyalty and faithfulness of the followers, a leader first needs to gain trust and
respect by being a supportive and genuine leader. Trust and respect go hand in hand. Trust is
gained by a leaders action as a person whereas respect comes from a leaders actions as a
professional. A leader should never abuse his power or authority and leadership to bully. A
leader not only needs to acquire respect but also has to show respect to others.
viii.

Equipping

Another primary responsibility of a successful leader is to recognize and provide an

opportunity to strengthen his followers strengths. Followers can grow, develop and become
more effective if they have a leader who understands their potential value. An important role
as a leader is to highlight or play up the strengths so well that the weaknesses disappear.
Taking care of the followers needs as well as wants and getting to know their personal
problems results solid relationship.
Deciding that people on the team are worth equipping and developing them is the first
step on building a better team. A leader needs to stick with teammates through thick and thin.
James E. Hunton says, Coming together is a beginning. Keeping together is progress.
Working together is success. Creating an energized environment for the team and equipping
each follower with additional resources and needed support ensure success.
Besides, a leader has to support followers by encouraging them and praising their
efforts regardless of the results. Followers are willingly to work hard if they receive
recognition for their efforts.
ix.

Delegation

Effective leaders delegate to followers effectively, broaden followers opportunities,

act with fairness, and train to be talented people for their teams. It is what makes the team
effective. Delegation frees time for other activities. The essence of leadership is achieving
goals through others, not trying to accomplish them by one. What is more, delegating
significant tasks to the followers is one of the best ways to support their growth. As there is
more than one way to complete a task, it stimulates innovation and generates fresh ideas and
new approaches throughout the entire team.
x.

Positive Attitude

A positive attitude is one of the most valuable assets a leader can have. With a
positive attitude, a leader ought to look at the bright side of every situation. The followers are
naturally attracted to a leader when he has a positive attitude. By being positive, he can be
surrounded by other positive people and can also magically attract exciting offers and
possibilities. Not only does the future look bright when the attitude is right, but the present is
much more enjoyable too. Likewise, unpleasant tasks and challenges can be turned into
positive experience.
An impressive leader develops the positive attitude, displays warmth and uses humour
appropriately to create a healthy and enjoyable atmosphere.
2.6 Leadership Skills for Students
To accomplish interactive and challenging activities, students must develop crucial
leadership skills such as:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.

Self-confidence
Self-discipline
Time Management
Decisiveness
Continuous learning
i.

Self-confidence

Self-confidence creates a willingness to follow and belief in the leaders decisions

among the followers. Leaders need to believe in themselves and have faith in their decisions,
even in the face of opposition and criticism.
As students become more assertive and self-confident, they improve their academic
and social skills, increasing the likelihood of continuing their education and becoming
leaders.
ii.

Self-discipline

Self-discipline is self-control, the ability to get a person to take action regardless of

his emotional state. Self-discipline involves acting according to what he thinks instead of how
he feels in the moment. Plato, the Greek philosopher, said The first and best victory is to
conquer self. Self-discipline is vital to students as it is one of the most important tools for
proper management of time.
iii.

Time Management

Time management is a leadership skill that will serve the students well. Time
management refers to the proper division of time for all the daily activities. Students must
finish everything they can do today and do not postpone it for the next day.
Its application to leadership is strong and it is how leaders effectively accomplish
tasks. Today, many youths are conscious of the need to control over their use of time. It is
necessary to respond more quickly to rapidly changing world. Therefore, distinguishing
between the importance and the urgency is essential. The need for time management skills
increases exponentially with success; the more one experiences success, the less time he has
to devote to that success. Time is a commodity, the supply of which is not inexhaustible.
iv.

Decisiveness

Decisiveness is the ability to make prompt decisions based on the information at hand
and stick to decisions that have been made. Decisiveness is an important leadership quality.
Team leaders must constantly tell the followers what to do and make decisions about projects.
The important thing is that the followers respect the leader as they realize he typically makes
excellent decisions and stands by them.
A great leader also develops criteria and a process for decision making in the
organization; clarifies responsibilities. He also helps others gather and obtain relevant
information needed for decision making.
v.

Continuous learning

To be a remarkable leader, one must keep improving himself as a continual learner.

Every person, every creature and everything is constantly changing and so a potential leader
should never stop learning. Learning is a skill that helps to develop skills. All learning is a
journey or a process without a final destination. A leader has to realize the value of learning
something new every day.
Being receptive to everyone's perceptions and information from around the world and
being willing to admit and learn from failures and weaknesses result more effective
leadership. No one is perfect, and everyone can make a mistake or two in his or her life. The
most successful leaders know that the key to success is to face failure and to learn from their
mistakes.
2.6.1

Improving Leadership Skills at School

To improve leadership skills, students must first take time to honestly analyze their
own strengths and weaknesses. Then, after analyzing strengths and weaknesses, action must
be taken. The following are some suggestions for improving leadership skills for students.
Students should participate in competitive sports. As they interact with team members
and opponents, students learn how to take turns, share play time and follow rules. They
develop a sense of fair play and learn how to gracefully handle defeat. Students must set
priorities as they have to organise an athletic schedule, academic demands, family
responsibilities and personal time. As students practise their time management and
multitasking skills, they realize their natural potential for leadership.
They should also promote student council involvement. As members, the students
learn how to plan, organize and implement programs and activities. Next, by rotating the
leadership role and structuring each activity, all students experience full participation.
The next thing students should do to improve their leadership skills is to take part in
volunteer activities that allow them to share their leadership skills with the rest of the
community. Students can participate in environmental movements, welfare programs and
fund-raisers.
2.7 Leadership Skills at Work
The business environment is becoming more and more dynamic in these days. An
important component of business is effective leadership to be able to keep pace with the
times. Effective leaders are always aware of the business environment and hence, are able to
take the right decisions that overcome difficult situations. Leadership skills will help leaders
score more responsibility at work, which means higher chances of a promotion, increased
salary, and opportunity overall. The leadership skills required at work are as follows:
i.
ii.
iii.
iv.
v.

Mentoring
Conflict Resolution
Team Building
Strategic Planning
Effective Communication
i.

Mentoring

The word mentor stands for manage, encourage, nurture, train, openness and
responsibility. Developing followers by helping them to manage themselves, encouraging and
nurturing others to expand their capabilities are parts of the leaders responsibility. Training
followers to improve performance is an important role of a leader as well. Openness means
being able to listen to new ideas. Good leaders are able to accept new ways of doing things
that someone else thought of. Openness builds mutual respect and trust between leaders and
followers. A great leader takes responsibility for the actions and objectives of a team.
Although the tasks are delegated to the followers, he also has to take responsibility at all
times. What is more, a leader must accept accountability for mistakes, problems or wrong
decisions. If any problem arises, leaders should be problemsolvers, not problemblamers, or
problemavoiders.
ii.

Conflict Resolution

Conflict, which is a clash between opposing ideas, is present in every organization

and is unavoidable. However, some degree of conflict can be helpful to the organization to
bolster innovation and performance through competition and higher productivity. In fact,
good leaders should not avoid conflict, but should embrace it as a means for organizational
change and growth.
iii.

Team Building

No one can do it all. That is why a team, comprised of others with different skill sets,
is essential. If teams involve more people, there will be more resources, ideas and energy.
Teams provide multiple perspectives on how to meet a need or reach a goal, thus devising
several alternatives for each situation. Teams divide the effort and multiple the effects. A
leader must know how to build and nurture such a team. The leaders who create and work in
teams would benefit from enhanced team building skills. Through team building, leaders
include others in participative management. The best leaders are good followers when
needed. A good leader knows when to be a leader and when to be a follower.
iv.

Strategic Planning

Strategic planning skill involves translating long-term objective into realistic business
strategies, making certain assumptions about the future and taking actions in the present to
positively influence that future. Leaders who are highly competent in this area typically

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develop plans that balance long-term goals with immediate needs, update plans to reflect
changing circumstances, and develop plans that contain contingencies for future changes.
v.

Effective Communication

Effective communication is another leadership skill that must be cultivated by all

leaders. Poor communication can waste time, create conflict and undermine teamwork. To
become a great communicator, continually attempt to improve the verbal, non-verbal, and
listening skills. It includes being able to clearly and specifically convey vision, goals,
intentions, and expectations to followers. Also, eye-contact is a major part of non-verbal
communication. In addition, the followers must involve in the conversation, not simply hear
the message. A talented leader should provide the followers with an opportunity to discuss
and listen carefully with respect. If the leader listens to the followers, they may be able to
make valuable and effective suggestions. Hence, listening to followers is also one of the
most important practices for successful communication.
2.8 Political Leadership Skills
Political leaders are vitally important as they make decisions that can have great
impact on the well-being of a country and its people.
The first and most obvious skill of political leadership is having interpersonal
influential power. Leaders with this skill tend to have good judgment about when to assert
themselves, which in turn, results in more cooperative relationships. Secondly, leaders who
possess a strong networking ability build friendships and beneficial working relationships by
garnering support, negotiating and managing conflict. Skilled networkers know when to call
on others and are willing to reciprocate. Thirdly, to sharpen political leadership skills, leaders
should display high levels of integrity and sincerity. As a final point, politically skilled
leaders need to have impulse control. Leaders should consider whether or not to voice a
thought or a feeling, and should be thoughtful about the timing and presentation of what they
have to say.

3. Research Methodology
In order to collect the data for this term-paper, questionnaire method is used. The
questionnaire (see Appendix) includes 20 questions which focus on the leadership skills that

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are expected from a leader. The targeted people are 350 students from different universities,
who are in 16-25 age range. The results are shown in the Findings and Discussions section.

4. Findings and Discussions

The rankings and ratings of the leadership skills that students expect from a leader are
shown below:
100
90
80
70
60
50

91

89

40

80

79

78

77

75

74

73

70
59

30

38

20
10
0
Impulse Control

Vision

Time Management Influence

Integrity

Responsibility

According to the data collected, 91% of the students expect impulse control from a
leader, the factor that people regard as the most important skill for a leader, and so we must
be aware of our manner and speech to control ourselves. Next, continuous learning and vision
follow impulse control at 89% and 80% respectively. We should not be reluctant to learn
everyday and should try to have a clear vision for the future if we would like to become an
admirable leader. After that, 79% of the students agree that leaders are mentors as well as
78% suppose that leaders must be competent in time management. Furthermore, 77%
students are in agreement that a leader should have creativity. Thus, leaders must see the
things in a different way that others cannot see. It is also discovered that 75% acknowledge
the influential power of a leader, 74% of students respect confident leaders, 73% believe
honesty is essential for a leader and 70% appreciate leaders positive attitude. In addition to
this, 59% assume leaders are responsible for anything including mistakes. Lastly, only 38%
of students are looking forward to delegation from a leader. In conclusion, it is observed that

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about half of the students understand the leadership well and one third of the students
suppose to apply leadership skills in every field.

5. Conclusion
Students need to learn leadership skills so that they can help their communities.
Community groups and companies equate leadership with the ability to work well with other
people. Unless we are aware of the leadership skills and activities that need to apply these
skills, we are unlikely to achieve the goals and objectives we desire. It cannot be denied that
leadership skills are so important for everyone in order to keep pace with the rapid
development of the world.
If we consider the usefulness of the leadership skills for students, we can notice a
number of reasons why leadership skills are required. Students should be given opportunities
to perform group work activities in the classroom. By recognizing the obvious importance of
such work, students would gain a new appreciation for group work in classes. In this way,
they would fully understand and apply the leadership skills in every field.
Students need to seek participation in student organizations during their college years.
Obviously, students need to select the organizations carefully; they need to find groups that
are devoted to leadership development among its members and that provide a nurturing
environment. By doing this, they will be able to develop and improve the leadership skills.
In this way, leadership skills are important not only for a person himself but also for
his community. It can be noted that developing and applying the leadership skills would be
the basic need for everyone to accomplish challenging activities in students life, to make
progress in career, and to be able to help community.

Acknowledgements
First of all, we offer our deepest gratitude to Dr. Maung Maung Oo, Professor and
Head of English Department, Mandalay University of Foreign Languages, for his kind

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permission to write this term-paper on the topic Effective Leadership Skills. We are
grateful to Dr. Zaw Win, Associate Professor of English Department, and Daw Kyu Kyu
Myint, our supervisor, for their guidance and support. Our sincere appreciation also goes to
our teachers, Daw Sandar Aye, Daw Pan Pwint San, U Tin Tun Win, Daw Hnin Hnin Khine
and Daw Khin Thidar Oo, under whose encouragement and support, we are able to
accomplish this term-paper. Last, but not least, we would like to express our thanks to our
classmates who kindly offer their help in various ways in doing this term-paper and those
who answer our questionnaire.

References
Angelo Kinicki, Robert Kreitner; Organizational Behaviour

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Diana Chapman Walsh; Five Qualities of Leaders We Can Trust

Gordon Curphy, Richard L. Hughes, Robert C. Ginnett; Leadership Enhancing the Lessons of
Experience
Glenn Omatsu, Student Leadership Booklet
John C. Maxwell; Attitude 101, Ethics 101, Equipping 101, Mentoring 101, Relationships
101, Self-Improvement 101, Success 101, Teamwork 101
Lyndon Jones, Dr. Penelope Hood; Effective Listening, Time Management
www.ehow.com
www.filestudy.net
www.google.com

Appendix
Tick ( ) if you agree.

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1. Leadership is the same as the management.

2. An effective leadership is measured by the success of the team.
3. Taking part in volunteer activities strengthens leadership skills of a student.
4. Leadership skills can be applied in every field.
5. A leader should set a high and difficult goal for the team to achieve.
6. Setting clear vision for teams future is an important skill of leaders.
7. A leader must be able to think differently and see things that others cannot see.
8. To know, develop and encourage the followers is a leaders important task.
9. A believable leader has honesty.
10. Accomplishing tasks by the followers is better than doing them by leader.
11. A leader should have a positive attitude and sense of humour.
12. Self-confidence can attract people to follow a leader.
13. Time management is useful for a student to become a great leader.
14. A leader must make decision quickly and stick to that decision.
15. Leaders dont have to learn as they have natural ability and intelligence.
16. A good leader allows and takes advantage of conflict among his followers.
17. Listening skill is equally as important as verbal communication.
18. In a team, a leader should take responsibility for all things including mistakes.
19. One of the important skills of a political leader is his influential power.
20. A political leader should control his words and consider before telling something.

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