What is leadership?

Leadership (1) is the "process of social influence (2) in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a common task." Another definition more inclusive of followers comes from Alan Keith of Genentech who said: "Leadership is ultimately about creating a way for people to contribute to making something extraordinary happen." (3) At Peer Mentor.net we support people in the development of leadership skills. We train the subset of skills necessary to sustain effective leadership.

Social influence occurs when an individual's thoughts or actions are affected by other people. Leaders need to learn and access these skills in order to empower others. The very best leaders know how to empower others to lead and therefore gather strong leaders around them who "make things happen" towards positive outcomes.

Emotional Intelligence
Demanding Leadership Skills Require Emotional Intelligence

These leadership skills can be taught and learned. And Peer Mentor.net provides continuous post-training e-support.

Sources:
(1) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leadership
(2) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_influence
(3) Kouzes, J., and Posner, B. (2007). The Leadership Challenge. CA: Jossey Bass. (4) Leadership Bibliography