What is a leadership skill?  There are numerous skills you desire if you want to be an effective manager or leader.  One important leadership skill is motivation, for example.  You must be able to motivate your team to reach a common goal.  Sounds easy enough, but it isn't always that simple.  This is just one of many; if you want to be a great manager or leader, read about each individual leadership skill to determine if you possess the characteristics to manage a group of people effectively.

If you are a leader, you likely have a vision; this means that you can spot a problem that perhaps others cannot see, or even if they can you are willing to go forward and tackle the problem, reach the goal - do whatever is necessary to improve the situation. See if you have each leadership skill below, and if your skill is fully developed to its optimum potential.

The ability to take action. This is an essential leadership skill; after all, if you are not able to take action toward pursuing goals, that means you will not be able to carry forward with any other necessary skills such as motivating, communicating or planning. As a leader, you must be willing to take initiative and get things done. You don't wait around on someone else to get the ball rolling; you are ready and willing to do it yourself.

One extremely important leadership skill is effective communication. You talk to people every day, sure - but it takes more than the simple ability to talk or write to communicate with your workers.  It is essential that you communicate in a way that your employees understand clearly the goal you are moving toward, and that they are excited and motivated about accomplishing that goal. You want to instill confidence in them and make them feel part of the "team."

Motivation is perhaps THE leadership skill above all others that you must possess in order to be an outstanding manager.  In every group, there are those people who are willing to do their best for the company, and there are always those "difficult" people that seem to disagree at every turn.  Motivation is a leadership skill that is crucial in order to persuade every person on the team to want to do their best - and you have to know how to push those buttons.

The ability to plan is another necessary leadership skill.  In order to reach the end result you desire, you have to plan to achieve that goal.  Careful thought and planning will help you keep your team moving toward the goal so that should any "glitch" or problem occur, you know how to move beyond that problem swiftly.

When reading about each leadership skill above, does it strike a chord with you?  Some individuals have what is necessary to become a great leader, but needs to develop their skills further. Give careful thought to each leadership skill so that you can determine which areas you may need to improve in order to achieve a vision through exceptional leadership.