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There’s a seemingly simple exercise that can be very powerful in helping you identify how to strengthen your own leadership. It involves asking yourself five questions; you need to challenge yourself and be open to changing your assumptions. You might prefer to do this in private; or if you are brave you might do it with a coach, mentor, friend, business partner or life partner.

Going on training courses and gaining qualifications are only a small step in the world of actually becoming proficient at a task. A lot of what you actually learn at work is done through the day-to-day tasks you’re involved in.

Analysis of corporate leaders’ 360-degree feedback suggest that as many as one in four has a listening deficit. The effects can be devastating for a company. But, despite today’s fast-paced business environment, even time-starved leaders can master the art of disciplined listening. Conventional advice for better listening is to be emotionally intelligent and available; however, truly good listening requires far more than that.

One of the most underrated competencies in leadership is delegation. As a leader you need to teach people how to think and ask the right questions so that the business can carry on if you’re not around.

In the work environment, it’s easy to do something because it’s expected of you, rather than because you believe it’s right. Perhaps you’ve backed away from taking a decision or saying something because it seemed easier? It’s all too easy to be caught up in ways of behaving that we feel at odds with – it can be lack of self-confidence, fear of not being seen as a ‘team player’, or the ethos of the organisation in which we work.

Is there such a thing as a leadership style? Actually, does it matter? No, not really, because how you lead should be influenced by the situation, and by the people you are leading – a prescriptive style really won’t work every time, and nor will a completely ‘delegative’ style. There are compelling reasons why.

What is it that makes some people natural leaders, and some not – and is it possible to learn how to lead? Leadership means guiding your life and activities toward achieving your vision, in the process finding personal fulfilment and meaning. It means transforming your vision and purpose into reality.

Stepping up to being a leader is a ‘state change’. It’s not – as many believe – a question of steps being put in place before it happens. It’s not a ‘tipping point’ from which a manager, armed with the right experience and the right circumstances, suddenly becomes a leader.

How do people become great leaders? Is it a natural gift, or something you can learn? And if you can learn it, why are there not more inspirational and successful leaders? We accept that great leadership is key to long-term organisational success, but we can probably name only a few, even internationally. How come there seems to be such a shortage?

Creating a Strategy is a lot easier than you might think. People make strategy much harder than it needs to be. Some focus too much on the tools: environmental scans, SWOT analyses, customer analyses, competitor analyses, financial modelling, and so on. Others think it’s all about broad, conceptual, future-oriented, big picture stuff. Others think that strategy is what happens when they think about changing direction.