Some people are born leaders. From a young age, they exhibit the qualities one typically looks for in a good leader: They're passionate, show integrity, inspire and motivate others, and have a strong take-charge attitude. Employers and executives recognize this, and these "born leaders" are often first in line for promotions to leadership roles. But individuals who have leadership potential don't simply become leaders overnight. It's up to existing leaders to train the next generation, showing them how to guide a group of people toward a specific vision or goal. Whether your company has a structured training program or you simply teach by example, here are a few key things to keep in mind when you're training future leaders. Choose the right person While certain individuals may seem like shoe-ins for a leadership position based on their personality or their current role within a company, it's crucial to take all performance and experience factors into account before determining their leadership candidacy. "Before you start teaching and enhancing the skills of a leader, you have to start with the right person," said Brian Sullivan, executive vice president of sales and management training firm Sandler Training. "This person should have a track record of success [in their current role] and have already exhibited leadership traits. Not everything they'll be doing as a leader is necessarily something they've done before, but these two fundamental items are the springboard for any type of training." Sullivan also told leaders not to allow favoritism to come into play when choosing a successor, and make a decision based solely on a candidate's qualifications. One of the most important skills a leader can acquire is how to listen. A true leader always takes his or her team's feedback into account when making decisions. This skill can be taught by being a good listener yourself. Build their listening skills One of the most important skills a leader can acquire is how to listen. A true leader always takes his or her team's feedback into account when making decisions. This skill can be taught by being a good listener yourself. "Always listen to the input you receive, and act on it," said Guryan Tighe, chief culture officer of Highwire Public Relations. "If you have only your own agenda in mind, you can't truly hear others' input and potentially, the next great idea. Make sure your business is set up to stimulate people around you to create and take initiative. For example, ask the trainees about their training experience, as this encourages an environment focused on growth and development." Help them craft a future vision "Vision" is a word that is commonly thrown around in reference to leaders, but what does it really mean? Denise Brosseau, CEO of Thought Leadership Lab, believes it involves the ability to inspire others to see a future worth striving for.  "[Leaders should] focus on crafting a compelling vision of the future that they will work to bring about," said Brosseau, author of "Ready to Be a Thought Leader?" (Jossey-Bass, 2014). "This future must be something they are passionate about, but they must also have the credibility and experience to make progress toward achieving it. Teaching leadership candidates how to create and articulate their own future vision will help them when it comes time to actually execute plans to get there. Find a leader works for everybody else If a leadership candidate seems more excited about being "the boss" who's in charge of others, he or she probably isn't the best person for the job. A good leader knows that his or her job is working for everybody else, said Dale Falcinelli, chairman of the advisory council at Lehigh University's Baker Institute for Entrepreneurship. "Leadership is an executive club, and it shouldn't be taken for granted," Falcinelli told Business News Daily. "Leaders aren't caught up with the notion of people working for them. They'll have the passion and drive to get where they need to go, and they'll know that to get there, they have to work for and through other people."

Neurologist Dr. Romie Mushtaq says that there’s science that supports the benefits of being focused and “in the moment.” Employers such as Google, eBay, Intel and General Mills offer classes on it. So do Harvard Business School, Ross School of Business and Claremont Graduate University, among other campuses. Mindfulness is not just a social media buzzword or a corporate trend, but a proven method for success, according to neurologist Dr. Romie Mushtaq. Mindfulness – being focused and fully present in the here and now – is good for individuals and good for a business’s bottom line, according to her. How can people practice it in a workplace where multitasking is the norm, and concerns for future profits can add to workplace stress? (More than 80 percent of employees report being stressed at work.) Source: [link url="http://theshearingroups.org/news/"] [link url="http://theshearingroups.org"]

1) Communicate a clear vision "A lot depends on where your university is and what you want the vice-chancellor to do. Do you need more student recruitment? Do you need more research grant money? So often the university strategic plan says things like, ' Be the best world-leading university at, er, everything. ' Well, sorry, but we don't believe you. Some universities – I am thinking De Montfort, Coventry, or Sheffield – have strategic plans you can actually believe, and at least one of those universities have linked the vice-chancellor's pay explicitly to whether that job got done. "(officeslob, commenter) 2) Trust your staff "It is an essential quality of any leader that they should develop and empower their staff. This means trusting them to innovate and get on with things without always looking over their shoulder or filling a form to say they've done something. " (Sue Shepherd, higher education management consultant, University of Kent) 3) Be fair "Academics are slightly strange animals and difficult to lead (and we all know they are difficult to manage!) – very individualistic and therefore many may not be considered team players. However all academics want to work in organisations where they are treated fairly e.g. don't bully someone for not being REFable when their admin/teaching workload is enormous etc. " (Paula Nicolson, emeritus professor, Royal Holloway, University of London) 4) Appoint good people "I see ' leaderful ' practices in classrooms, research teams and student-led activity throughout the HE sector. Sometimes this is found despite prevailing managerial cultures in institutions; sometimes it is purposefully engendered by leaders dispersed through universities whose activity seems clearly-defined by enacting their values and their belief in the potential of higher education to engage and transform. " (Paul Gentle, Leadership Foundation for Higher Education) 5) Value all staff "Universities need to value their staff – permanent and casual. Many casual staff are the academics and administrative managers of the future and need to be engaged by the leaders because both have a future together. " (Paula Nicolson) "I would like people to reflect on whom exactly is being led by these visionary leaders; from my experience, an army of casual, underpaid and underprotected temporary staff, tasked with delivering teaching, marking and support to students. It suits management and sadly, it suits the permanent members of staff, relieved of their boring teaching duties and more able to work on their research and seek external funding. This is the model, let's not forget it in this fog of management-speak and emotional intelligence talk. " (Enheduanna, commenter). This Site: [link url="http://www.theguardian.com/higher-education-network/blog/2014/apr/14/five-ways-university-leaders-inspire-motivate"] Additional hints: [link url="http://theshearingroups.org"] [link url="http://theshearingroups.org/news/"]