"Becoming a leader is synonymous with becoming yourself. That simple, that difficult." Warren Bennis, Distinguished Professor of Business Administration and Founding Chairman of the University of Southern California Leadership Institute is a well known scholar in the field of leadership development. His list of important factors "critical for leading in this new world" includes, "Leaders are really going to have to spend a long time - and it's a continual process - finding out who they themselves are: learning their own voice, learning how they affect other people, learning a great deal about emotional intelligence".

"Leadership is a combination of strategy and character. If you must be without one, be without the strategy" General H. Norman Schwarzkopf commanded the highly successful coalition forces that defeated Iraq and liberated Kuwait during Operation Desert Shield/Storm (1990-91). This four-star general understands the critical balance between doing something and being someone, to include the emphasis that must be placed on the development of one's self.

In the 1980s a Harvard Business Review article identified the top 5 reasons leaders fail. Number one on the list: poor interpersonal skills. The remaining four include inability to make changes, preoccupation with turf protection, fear of making decisions and taking actions, and ability to rebound from mistakes.

"The ability to deal with people is as purchasable a commodity as sugar or coffee.  And I will pay more for that ability than for any other under the sun."  Even the great Industrialist John D. Rockefeller, an individual considered to be the richest person in history, understood the value of emotional intelligence and associated interpersonal skills.

As a leader ask yourself two questions. Firstly, 'Who am I?' Secondly, 'Who do I need to be to fulfill my potential?' The DLS Experience Executive Coaching Programme will teach you the answer to both questions. In doing so you will attain a level of emotional intelligence that will transcend past achievements; that will demonstrate to you and others how great a leader can be. Contact us to learn more.