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30 of the best ted talks on leadership that every great leader should watch – 2nd edition.

Last updated: 4 March 2020

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Love inspiring Ted Talks on leadership? So do we!

That’s why we put together this list of our  crème de la crème TED Talks on leadership.

So next time you’re needing a little boost, take a 20-minute break to listen to one of these and learn from some of the most forward-thinking and innovative experts to discover what’s given them their little-known edge.

1.  How Great Leaders Inspire Action , by Simon Sinek

With more than 29 million views , Simon Sinek is now on the A-List of leadership gurus, after he gave this incredible talk.

As Sinek himself says, “As it turns out, all the great inspiring leaders and organizations in the world, whether it’s Apple or Martin Luther King, Jr. or the Wright brothers, they all think, act and communicate the exact same way. And it’s the complete opposite to everyone else. All I did was codify it, and it’s probably the world’s simplest idea. I call it the Golden Circle.”

For Sinek, the difference between these inspirational leaders and everyone else is they start with “why,” which is the core concept of his Golden Circle . By asking why, how and what, you can set yourself on a trajectory of tremendous success that, statistically speaking, very few people attain.

2.  The Puzzle of Motivation , by Dan Pink

To be an effective leader, you need to know what makes people “tick,” and especially what motivates them in the workplace to give you their best. Interestingly enough, money only takes you so far.

In this compelling video –which has clocked over 13 million views – Pink (author of  Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us ) untangles the web of motivation in a way that makes sense for leaders. Here’s a hint : traditional rewards aren’t always as motivating as we think.

3.  Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders , by Sheryl Sandberg

Sandberg left Google to become Facebook’s COO in 2008. In this video, she looks at why so few women make it to the C-suite, and offers up three important pieces of advice to women who want to buck the trend and get there. The key, in Sandberg’s view, is ensuring women remain in the workforce.

As it turns out, having more women remain in the workforce has other positive benefits on society and households, such as equal earning and equal responsibility between partners. As Sandberg notes, households that demonstrate this equality also have half the divorce rate.

4.  The Difference Between Winning and Succeeding , by John Wooden

To be a successful leader, what better place to start than by defining exactly what you mean by success? The man affectionately known as “Coach” redefines success to be much more than merely winning. Coach James Wooden explains this difference with profound simplicity, and urges everyone to pursue the best in themselves. The Coach’s 17-minute talk is uplifting as much as it is inspiring.

5.  What Makes us Feel Good About Our Work ? By Dan Ariely

Dan Ariely is a behavioral economist who has gained a deeper understanding of human motivation than most economists could ever hope for. He even designed experiments that would help solve the mystery of motivation, which is what this video is all about.

As it turns out, money isn’t the only thing that motivates us to work. It isn’t exactly joy, either. The real motivation for going to work every day is to make constant progress and lead a life of purpose . Strong leaders care about the bottom line, but are about much more than that. They have a sense of purpose, and get out of bed every single day to fulfill it.

6.  Why Good Leaders Make You Feel Safe , by Simon Sinek

Simon Sinek’s material is so good that he’s the only one to appear twice on this list. You know building trust among your followers is important, but actually doing it is another thing entirely.

Sinek’s video on the topic will take your understanding of trust to a whole new level. After all, humans are emotional species who struggle with insecurities and vulnerabilities. A good leader brings his or her employees into a circle of trust. This is especially important in today’s economy, where jobs are destroyed as fast as they are created. Leaders have a responsibility to make their workers feel safe.

7.  Dare to Disagree , by Margaret Heffernan

When it comes to forming your dream team, the last thing you should do is surround yourself with what Heffernan calls “echo chambers” who only tell you what they think you want to hear. Mastering the art of disagreement is essential to effective leadership. Leaders must also be willing to cope with others disagreeing with them. Only through disagreement are ideas challenged.

Hefferman outlines a rubric for avoiding echo chambers and allowing ourselves to experience what she calls constructive conflict.

“So what does that kind of constructive conflict require? Well, first of all, it requires that we find people who are very different from ourselves. That means we have to resist the neurobiological drive, which means that we really prefer people mostly like ourselves, and it means we have to seek out people with different backgrounds, different disciplines, different ways of thinking and different experience, and find ways to engage with them. That requires a lot of patience and a lot of energy.”

8.  Lead Like The Great Conductors , by Itay Talgam

You’ve no doubt heard leadership described through the metaphor of conducting an orchestra. Itay Talgam operationalizes that metaphor by sharing what leaders can learn from 6 different 20th-century conductors. Don’t worry, this TED Talk requires no formal background (or interest) in the symphony.

Talgam describes the “magical moment” when a conductor turns chaos into blissful music. It’s a very small gesture, “not very pomp, not very sophisticated.” And suddenly, out of the chaos, noise becomes music.

9.  As Work Gets More Complex, Six Rules to Simplify , by Yves Morieux

Everyone knows that a staggering number of people are disengaged from their work. Yves Morieux argues that our reaction to the unfathomable complexity of modern work has a lot to do with that disengagement. Traditional organizational management certainly doesn’t help, either. His antidote includes 6 refreshing ways to engage in what he calls “smart simplicity.” The first rule is understand what your colleagues actually do. This is especially important for business leaders if they wish to simply the workplace and boost employee engagement.

10.  What It Takes To Be A Great Leader , by Roselinde Torres

Roselinde Torres has developed a deep understanding of what makes leaders effective. She poses 3 laser-like questions that will spur your own thinking on what it takes to be a great leader.

In a world filled with executive leadership programs and expensive seminars, Torres argues the best way to learn leadership might be right under your nose. Torres’ 9-minute talk is candid and to the point.

11.  A Life of Purpose , by Rick Warren

His book, Purpose-Driven Life, has sold more than 30 million copies. The church he pastors, Saddleback Church, has more than 22,000 members. Clearly, Rick Warren understands a few things about leadership.

This video is an intimate presentation of his own thoughts and crises around leadership. For anyone who’s ever looked at their existence and said, “There’s got to be more to life than this” will certainly find solace in Warren’s 21-minute talk.

12.  Listen, Learn… Then Lead , by Stanley McChrystal

Stanley McChrystal is a 4-star general who spent decades in the military. What he gleaned about leadership that can build a shared sense of purpose among an incredibly diverse set of followers boils down to how well you listen and learn, as well as how you position failure.

McChrystal’s view of leadership can be summarized with the following quote:

“[A] leader isn’t good because they’re right; they’re good because they’re willing to learn and to trust. This isn’t easy stuff.”

13.  Got a Wicked Problem to Solve? First, Tell me How you Make Toast , by Tom Wujec

Making toast is simple, right? But what happens when someone asks you to draw how you make toast? Suddenly things get interesting, and complicated.

This simple exercise reveals much about leading solutions to complex problems. Tom Wujec invites listeners to run the exercise themselves while explaining what he’s learned from observing thousands of people draw toast. From this talk, leaders will learn some important truths about how to handle real-world challenges .

14.  Everyday Leadership , by Drew Dudley

Drew Dudley’s whole approach is to make sure everyone understands how to bring out the leader within. Too many people think great leadership is reserved for extraordinary people.

His humorous take will remind you of all the little things leaders do each day. Leadership may be self-taught, but certainly isn’t reserved to a special segment of society. Dudley reminds us that leadership is an everyday act that should be celebrated.

15.  Tribal Leadership , by David Logan

It’s easy to think that as a species we have evolved far beyond the days of tribalism, but management consultant David Logan argues that effective leaders understand the 5 kinds of tribes that still crop up naturally in nearly any setting. Logan’s talk takes you through the 5 tribes, or stages, beginning with “Life sucks” and ending with “Life is great.”

16. Learning From Leadership’s Missing Manual , by Fields Wicker-Miurin

If you missed the opening line of this article, Fields Wicker-Miurin will remind you that leadership is self-taught. People who are looking for the holy grail leadership manual will wait forever in vain.

Leadership comes from within , but that shouldn’t stop you from developing the qualities that people admire in a great leader. Instead of looking for a how-to manual, learn the inspiring story of a local leader in your community. They’re not as far away or elusive as you might think.

17. How To Make Work-Life Balance Work , by Nigel Marsh

Leaders may be workaholics, but they also value work-life balance. That’s Nigel Marsh’s main thrust in this 2010 talk. Marsh shows you how to share a balance lifestyle between family, personal time and productivity. He also drops some inspiration from his books Fit, Fifty, and Fired Up and Overworked and Underlaid (yes, he has a great sense of humor).

Achieving an ideal work-life balance may seem like a jigsaw puzzle, but isn’t nearly as hard as our productivity-obsessed culture makes it out to be. Through small changes, you can have a big impact on work, relationships and life in general.

18. The Key To Success? Grit , by Angela Lee Duckworth

Successful consultant-turned-teacher Angela Lee Duckworth reminds us that success requires hard work and grit. While this is nothing we don’t know, why are these characteristics so difficult to apply? As Duckworth says, “as much as talent counts, effort counts twice.”

Duckworth’s quick talk is an essential listen for anyone getting suckered into taking shortcuts. As it turns out, all the old adages about success and hard work are true.

19. The Secret Structure Of Great Talks , by Nancy Duarte

The ability to move others through motivational speech is one of the greatest qualities of a true leader. Author and CEO Nancy Duarte gets it, and that’s why she developed this 18-minute talk to help aspiring leaders take their presentation skills to the next level.

Duarte dissects the speeches of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Steve Jobs to uncover the essential qualities of a great presentation. If leadership is your passion, be prepared to spend a lot of time talking in front of people.

20. How To Start A Movement , by Derek Sivers

Don’t let the name of this short TED Talk fool you – Derek Sivers isn’t calling for revolution or political anarchy. Using interesting footage, Sivers shows you how surprisingly easy it is to start a movement. As they say, it takes two to tango. That’s all that’s needed for leaders to inspire a movement.

21. Got A Meeting? Take A Walk , by Nilofer Merchant

“Sitting has become the smoking of our generation.” – Nilofer Merchant

In her TED Talk, business innovator Nilofer Merchant offers a simple message about the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle . Leaders spend a lot of time in meetings. Merchant suggests you turn your next one-on-one meeting into a “walking meeting.” Not only do you hit two birds with one stone – by meeting and elevating your heart rate – the simple act of walking allows your ideas to flow much better than they otherwise would sitting in a cramped office.

22. The Leaders Who Ruined Africa, And The Generation Who Can Fix It , Fred Swaniker

Africa has struggled to live up to its development goals, and its leaders are to blame, says TED Fellow and founder of the African Leadership Network Fred Swaniker.

Having lived throughout Africa, Swaniker highlights the vital role true leaders play in building a society, and what can happen in their absence. Swaniker’s description of the next great African leaders is anybody who wants to make a difference in their society, especially where strong institutions are lacking.

23. The Happy Secret To Better Work , by Shawn Achor

It’s generally assumed we have to work to be happy, but what if we have it backwards? That’s the argument psychologist and CEO Shawn Achor makes in this 2012 talk. Achor says we need to be happy independently of work , and only then will we be able to increase productivity and success in the workplace.

Searching for happiness in the workplace can be a deep rabbit hole that often leads to less happiness overall. This is an important message for leaders, who seek to inspire other people in their line of work. It just so happens that developing happiness outside the 9-5 hours is the most important for our health and success.

24. How to Fix a Broken School? Lead Fearlessly, Love Hard , by Linda Cliatt-Wayman

You don’t have to be a teacher to appreciate Linda Cliatt-Wayman’s inspirational talk about her time as principal at a failing school in Philadelphia. It didn’t take long for her to realize that leadership was more than just “laying down the law.” We won’t spoil it for you, but let’s just say she managed to turn around her struggling school. There were 3 key principles that helped her get there.

25. Trial, Error and the God Complex , by Tim Harford

If the title of Tim Harford’s TED Talk doesn’t pique your interest, nothing will. Harford, an economics writer who studies complex systems, talks about the importance of trial and error in achieving success. Except he doesn’t just “talk” about it, but presents the findings of his studies on complex systems.

As the title suggests, Harford’s talk centres on the concept of a God complex – refusing to admit the possibility of being wrong regardless of the complexity of the situation – and the importance of trial and error in achieving better results.  Go down the list, virtually every successful business leader used trial and error to perfect their craft.

26. The Surprising Habits Of Original Thinkers , by Adam Grant

“The greatest originals are the ones who fail the most, because they’re the ones who try the most.” – Adam Grant

Suffice it to say, all aspiring leaders want to be recognized for their creativity and originality. While creativity often lies within, psychologist Adam Grant studies the lives of “originals” – thinkers whose ideas transform the world. Over the course of 15 minutes, Grant explains the unexpected habits of original thinkers, and their fearlessness in the face of failure.

Fear of failure is one of the biggest inhibitors to success in all of life’s endeavors. While never easy, leaders must learn to overcome that fear. Studying the habits of original thinkers will teach aspiring leaders they “need a lot of bad ideas in order to get a few good ones.”

27. Your Body Language Shapes Who You Are , by Amy Cuddy

Four years and more than 38 million views later, Amy Cuddy’s powerful TED Talk has resonated with many aspiring leaders. As a social psychologist, Cuddy explains how “power posing” – showcasing a posture of confidence even when you don’t feel confident – can affect your brain chemistry and move you to positive action.

While some of the findings presented in the study are controversial among social scientists, Cuddy’s talk is a great reminder of the importance of projecting confidence in every situation . Whether that holds up to tests of academic rigor are less important.

28. How to Get Your Ideas To Spread , by Seth Godin

If you think the answer to Seth Godin’s talk is “social media,” try again. This TED Talk took place back in 2007, a few years before social media became as ubiquitous as it is today. As a leader, getting your ideas to spread requires more than just a Twitter handle. Godin, himself an author and marketing guru, explains the importance of standing out, and why even the craziest ideas can become the most successful ones.

29. Secrets Of Success In 8 Words, 3 Minutes , by Richard St. John

Analyst and bestselling author, Richard St. John, managed to condense 7 years of interviews into an unforgettable 3-minute presentation about what it takes to be truly successful. Believe us, nobody is as cognizant of your time as St. John. This 3-minute talk is normally presented as a 2-hour presentation to high school students.

30. Why We Do What We Do , by Tony Robbins

No list of inspiring TED Talks is complete without Tony Robbins, the globally renowned life success coach who has spent decades helping people achieve their dreams. Robbins shattered many preconceived notions about his work a mere 36 seconds into his presentation.

“I’m not here to motivate you, you don’t need that, obviously. Often that’s what people think I do, and it’s the furthest thing from it. What happens, though, is people say to me, ‘I don’t need any motivation.’ But that’s not what I do. I’m the ‘why’ guy. I want to know why you do what you do.”

He then goes into detail explaining the “invisible forces” that make us do the things we do. He also high-fives Al Gore in the front row. With more than 18 million views, Robbins’ TED appearance is one of the most popular.

There you have it. More than 8 hours of pure leadership inspiration to help turn you into the type of leader others admire, respect and want to follow.

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10 Presentation Ideas For Leadership Teams and Training

Leadership teams shape organizations for better or for worse. They’re responsible for guiding teams and moving things— big or small— forward. So what makes a great leader versus one that causes employees to leave a company?

When you think of a great leader, it’s probably a specific characteristic that comes to mind. Qualities like respect, self-awareness, trust, influence, collaboration, and strong communication skills can set extraordinary managers apart from mediocre ones. But how leaders listen, learn, and communicate with their employees is just as important. Because of that, leaders— regardless of the industry— need to hold themselves accountable and continuously seek out ways to grow as a manager.   

It’s not uncommon for companies to host offsites or retreats to bring the leadership team together for brainstorming, planning, and training. This helps align leaders across various departments, teams, and offices, while offering them the tools they need to be more successful in their role. 

When preparing a presentation for leadership teams and training, it's crucial to focus on content that resonates with the audience's strategic mindset and their role in guiding the organization. Here are some leadership presentation ideas to help inspire your own content.

Leadership presentation ideas

Presentations can act as a platform to encourage learning and collaboration among different leaders. Do you have a leadership retreat coming up? Here are 10 leadership presentation ideas to help train and motivate your own leadership team. 

Effective leadership strategies

As a recurring training, you might share effective leadership strategies with your executive team. This presentation would act as a refresher of the latest trends and best practices in leadership. This could include insights on empathetic leadership, fostering a positive company culture, and embracing diversity and inclusion.

Change management

How should managers and leadership teams address the challenges and opportunities associated with change within the organization? A change management presentation would provide strategies for how leaders can navigate transitions successfully, with the least amount of disruption to the team.

Strategic planning and decision-making

A strategic planning and decision making presentation will offer insights into the process of setting achievable goals and making informed decisions. Organizations might also use a strategic planning presentation to lead their own company brainstorming sessions at a leadership all-hands meeting. 

Team development and engagement

Team development and engagement is important for the overall success of the team. In this presentation you might share techniques for fostering a high-performing and engaged team, including methods for providing feedback, coaching, and creating a supportive work environment.

Communication skills

Communication skills can make or break a leader. A training session on effective communication in leadership roles could be beneficial for both managers and executives of all levels. Here you could offer practical tips for clear, transparent, and empowering communication.

Leading through uncertainty

Given the current business landscape and layoffs happening across various industries, leadership teams need to know how to handle hard situations. This presentation idea for leadership teams would discuss strategies for navigating uncertainty and ambiguity, including how to maintain resilience and inspire confidence in a team concerned about job security. 

Embracing innovation and creativity

It’s no secret that AI is here to stay, and teams are having to pivot to accommodate new technology. Use a thoughtful presentation to encourage leaders to embrace innovation and promote a culture of creativity within the organization. The slides in this deck could showcase the benefits of adopting innovative approaches and thinking outside the box.

Building high-performance teams

Leaders need the right tools and knowledge to be able to guide positive performance. Employers might offer a training “how-to” on best practices for assembling and nurturing high-performance teams. This deck should include strategies for fostering collaboration, trust, and accountability among teammates. 

Data-driven decision making

As a leader, leveraging data to make more informed decisions should be top of mind. This leadership presentation idea can highlight the importance of leveraging data and analytics in decision-making processes, and offer guidance on how to incorporate data-driven insights into leadership strategies. This could include ways to implement KPIs, OKRs, or other effective ways to track the performance of individual contributors and campaigns. 

Ethical leadership

A wildly important leadership topic is ethics. Upper management should be well-educated in ethical leadership, and how that impacts the success of the team. An ethical leadership presentation could include the significance of ethics, the impact it has on organizational culture, employee morale, and long-term success, and how to ensure it’s top of mind in each department on a daily basis.

Beautiful presentations to drive your message home

You have a presentation topic, now what? The hardest part of presentation design is going from idea to deck with little design skills to back you up. Thankfully, there's a presentation software for that. Insert: Beautiful.ai. Beautiful.ai helps leadership teams create beautiful presentations so they can pack a bigger punch with their message and inspire their audience. Presenters can use one of Beautiful.ai's customizable pre-built presentation templates — like the training presentation — or leverage our AI-assistant to create a presentation from scratch specific to their topic. By creating beautiful decks you can engage your audience, drive your message home, and leave your leadership team feeling inspired to make a difference.

Jordan Turner

Jordan is a Bay Area writer, social media manager, and content strategist.

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11 Leadership Presentation Ideas for Team Training

• By Judhajit Sen
• May 21, 2024

Leadership development topics equip aspiring leaders with the skills and tactics necessary for effective management. These topics for leadership presentations help leaders understand their roles and view challenges as opportunities for growth. Training provides insights into team expectations and highlights critical aspects that drive productivity and efficiency within the company. Moreover, comprehensive management training builds confidence, helping leaders excel in their roles and identify areas for improvement and growth.

Leadership roles are pivotal in shaping organizations. Great leaders possess qualities such as respect, self-awareness, trust, influence, collaboration, and strong communication skills. They are distinguished by their ability to listen, learn, and communicate effectively with their teams. Accountability and a continuous pursuit of growth are essential traits for leaders in any industry. Hosting offsites or retreats for leadership teams can facilitate brainstorming, planning, and training, aligning leaders across departments and providing the tools necessary for success.

Leadership meetings gather vital decision-makers to discuss, strategize, and make critical decisions shaping the company’s future. These meetings are essential for sharing insights, setting goals, and aligning efforts towards a shared vision. Effective communication during these presentations ensures alignment, inspiration, informed decision-making, accountability, and innovation. By focusing on these elements, leadership slide presentations can resonate with the audience’s strategic mindset and their pivotal role in guiding the organization.

Following are 11 leadership presentation ideas for team training.

Key Takeaways

• Leadership training equips leaders with essential management skills, helping them understand their roles and view challenges as growth opportunities.
• Effective leaders possess qualities like respect, self-awareness, trust, and strong communication skills, fostering a positive work environment.
• Leadership meetings are vital for decision-making, goal setting, and aligning efforts toward a shared vision.
• Mastering soft skills, time management, and understanding different leadership styles are crucial for successful team leadership and organizational growth.

Mastering Communication: A Must-Have Skill for Leaders

Effective communication is crucial for any leader. It’s more than just talking—it’s about sharing ideas, giving directions, and understanding your team. This leadership slides idea should be at the top of your workshop agenda.

Here’s why communication skills matter:

Clarity in Ideas: Leaders must present their thoughts in a way everyone understands. Clear communication prevents confusion and ensures everyone is on the same page.

Active Listening: Good leaders don’t just talk; they listen. By genuinely hearing team members’ concerns and feedback, leaders can better address issues and foster an environment of trust.

Empowerment Through Words: Leaders should use their words to empower their teams. Transparent and encouraging communication boosts morale and drives productivity.

Training in these skills can significantly benefit managers and executives. Offer practical tips and exercises to help them communicate more effectively. When leaders master these skills, they build stronger, more loyal teams, paving the way for business plan success.

Navigating Leadership Challenges: Building Resilience and Conflict Resolution Skills

Leading isn’t easy—it comes with its fair share of challenges. Here’s why addressing these challenges should be a priority for your leadership PowerPoint – 

Leading Under Pressure: Leaders face stress and pressure daily. Equip them with strategies to handle crises and high-pressure situations effectively. Developing mental and emotional strength is crucial for overcoming challenges.

Navigating Uncertainty: Uncertainty is common in today’s business landscape, especially with layoffs and economic changes. Leaders must maintain resilience and inspire team confidence during tough times.

Managing Difficult Situations: It is vital to discuss challenging topics like handling problem employees, delivering bad news, or leading initiatives you disagree with. These discussions can lead to growth and provide valuable insights for all leaders.

Managing Emotions: Leaders must also effectively manage their own emotions. Topics like staying humble, overcoming fear, and avoiding burnout are often overlooked but essential for long-term success. Encouraging open discussions about personal struggles is vital to supporting leaders’ well-being.

Resolving Conflict: Conflict is unavoidable in any workplace. Teach leaders how to resolve conflicts constructively. By mastering interpersonal skills, leaders can turn conflicts into opportunities for growth and strengthen team relationships.

By addressing these challenges head-on and providing practical training, you can empower leaders to navigate challenging situations and confidently lead their teams to success.

Maximizing Team Engagement: Key Strategies for Effective Leadership

Employee engagement isn’t just a buzzword; it’s a critical aspect of effective leadership. Keeping your team motivated and committed ensures they perform at their best and stay with the organization longer. This leadership training PowerPoint slides idea delves into the essential elements of team engagement and provides actionable strategies for leaders to implement.

Prioritizing Engagement: Leaders must recognize the importance of keeping their teams engaged. Engaged employees are happier and contribute more effectively to organizational goals. By prioritizing engagement, leaders foster a positive work environment where the team feels valued and motivated.

Strategies for Engagement: Consistent engagement requires deliberate effort. Leaders can benefit from learning and implementing various methods to engage their teams. From recognizing achievements to fostering open communication, there are numerous tactics leaders can employ to stimulate engagement and boost team morale.

The Power of Feedback:  Effective feedback fosters engagement and improves performance.  Offering constructive criticism helps employees understand their strengths and areas for improvement, guiding them toward success. Leaders must learn the art of giving feedback that motivates rather than demotivates, fostering a culture of growth and development within the team.

Building a Supportive Environment:  A supportive work environment is crucial for team development and engagement.  Leaders must create a culture of collaboration, trust, and respect. They can nurture a high-performing and engaged team by providing growth opportunities and recognizing individual contributions. Start already with the hiring process. Include opening of paid training positions, like ones you can check on Jooble . Invest in education of your employees from the very beginning to get the best results in future.

Continuous Learning and Development: Engaging teams isn’t a one-time effort; it requires constant learning and development. Leaders should invest in ongoing training programs to enhance their skills in fostering engagement, providing feedback, and nurturing team dynamics. By continuously improving their leadership abilities, leaders can create a culture of engagement that drives organizational success.

Maximizing team engagement is a vital aspect of effective leadership. Leaders can cultivate high-performing teams that drive organizational success by prioritizing engagement, implementing strategic approaches, and fostering a supportive environment.

Mastering Soft Skills: Empowering Leaders for Success

Effective leadership goes beyond hiring top talent; it requires the ability to inspire and guide teams toward success. This leadership PowerPoint presentation idea explores the significance of soft leadership skills and offers valuable insights for enhancing these skills among team leaders and managers.

The Power of Influence:  Good leaders can motivate and influence their teams. By understanding different motivational techniques and strategies, leaders can foster a culture of enthusiasm and productivity within their teams. From recognizing individual achievements to cultivating a “can-do” attitude, influential leaders inspire their teams to achieve greatness.

Understanding Soft Skills:  Soft skills are personal traits that allow us to interact effectively with others. In today’s dynamic workforce, soft skills foster collaboration, communication, and teamwork. From communication and problem-solving to leadership and adaptability, mastering soft skills is essential for success in the modern workplace.

Building Strong Foundations:  Soft skills encompass a broad spectrum of attributes, each contributing to effective leadership. These skills form the foundation of successful leadership, from communication to critical thinking and stress management. By developing these skills, leaders can enhance their ability to connect with their teams and drive positive outcomes.

Continuous Improvement:  Soft skills are not innate; they can be developed and honed over time. Leaders should embrace opportunities for continuous learning and skill development. By investing in training programs and workshops focused on soft skills development, leaders can strengthen their ability to lead and motivate their teams to excel.

Turning Theory into Action:  While understanding the importance of soft skills is crucial, putting theory into practice is equally essential. Leaders should actively apply soft skills in their daily team interactions, fostering open communication, collaboration, and mutual respect. Through their actions, leaders can empower their teams to thrive.

Mastering soft skills is essential for effective leadership. By understanding the power of influence, embracing a wide range of soft skills, and continuously striving for improvement, leaders can empower their teams to achieve success and drive organizational growth.

Mastering Time Management: Empowering Leaders for Success

Time management is an invaluable aspect of effective leadership that training managers should prioritize. This presentation idea highlights the importance of time management for leaders and provides valuable insights for improving this essential skill.

Working Smarter, Not Harder:  Leaders often juggle multiple responsibilities, making time management indispensable. Leaders can learn to prioritize tasks, allocate time efficiently, and optimize productivity by focusing on this training topic. The goal is to help leaders work smarter, not harder, by enhancing their management skills and achieving maximum effectiveness.

Quality Over Quantity:  Overworking should never be the standard for good work. Effective time management enables leaders to produce sustainable, high-quality results in less time. By mastering time management, leaders can make better decisions, maintain consistency, and positively impact their team members’ performance.

The Power of Delegation:  Delegation is a core function of leadership and a vital time management skill. Leaders must learn to assign tasks to the right people and trust them to deliver quality results. Proper delegation saves time and fosters engagement among team members, inspiring them to put forth more effort and commitment.

Fostering Engagement: Delegation, coupled with effective time management, fosters engagement within teams. When leaders delegate tasks efficiently, they empower their team members and enable them to take ownership of their work. This responsibility motivates team members to perform at their best, driving overall productivity and success.

Maximizing Impact: As John C. Maxwell aptly stated, “If you want to do great things and make a big impact, learn to delegate.” Effective time management and delegation allow leaders to focus on high-impact tasks that drive organizational growth and success. By mastering these skills, leaders can elevate their effectiveness and make a lasting impact on their teams and organizations.

Mastering time management is essential for effective leadership. Leaders can maximize their impact and drive success in their organizations by working smarter, delegating tasks effectively, and fostering engagement within teams.

Exploring Leadership Styles: Empowering New Leaders

Understanding different leadership styles is essential for new and aspiring leaders. This presentation idea highlights the importance of exploring various leadership styles and offers valuable insights for leadership training and development.

Empowering New Leaders: Leadership training for new leaders should include exploring different leadership styles. By clearly understanding various approaches, leaders can develop their own leadership style and identify opportunities for improvement. This training creates a foundation for effective leadership and empowers leaders to lead their teams confidently.

Daniel Goleman’s Six Styles:  Developed by Daniel Goleman, the six leadership styles offer valuable insights into situational leadership. Each style addresses different needs and situations, allowing leaders to adapt their approach accordingly. From visionary to commanding, each style has its unique strengths and applications.

Tailoring Leadership to Situations: Effective leadership requires adapting to various situations and individuals. By understanding the six leadership styles, leaders can assess their team’s needs and choose the most appropriate style for the problem. Whether mobilizing people toward a vision or demanding immediate compliance, leaders can tailor their approach for maximum effectiveness.

Building Versatility: Exploring different leadership styles allows new leaders to develop versatility in their approach. By combining elements of various styles, leaders can create a personalized style that aligns with their strengths and the needs of their team. This versatility enables leaders to navigate diverse challenges and drive positive outcomes.

Continuous Learning and Improvement:  Leadership is a journey of constant learning and improvement. New leaders should embrace opportunities to explore and refine their leadership styles over time. Leaders can become effective and impactful by seeking feedback and experimenting with different approaches.

Exploring different leadership styles is essential for new leaders’ development. By understanding the six styles, tailoring leadership to situations, building versatility, and embracing continuous learning, new leaders can cultivate their leadership skills and positively impact their teams and organizations.

Embracing Diversity & Inclusion: Essential Leadership Training

Diversity and inclusion are vital aspects of effective leadership in today’s global market. This presentation idea emphasizes the importance of fostering diversity and inclusion within teams and offers valuable insights for leadership training and development.

Leading a Diverse Team:  In today’s diverse workforce, leaders must know how to collaborate with individuals from various backgrounds, cultures, and identities. Embracing diversity means bringing together the unique qualities of each team member to work in harmony. Leaders play an important role in ensuring that all team members are equally heard, seen, and recognized for their contributions, regardless of their differences.

Combatting Stereotypes and Bias:  Raising awareness about diversity and inclusion helps leaders combat stereotypes, discrimination, and unconscious bias within their teams. By fostering inclusivity, leaders  create a safe workspace  where team members  feel valued and respected.  This enhances team morale and promotes creativity, innovation, and productivity.

Effective Leadership Strategies:  Sharing practical strategies for embracing diversity and inclusion is essential for leadership training. Leaders should focus on empathetic leadership, foster a positive company culture, and create opportunities for diverse voices to be heard. By embracing diversity and inclusion, leaders can build stronger, more resilient teams that drive organizational success.

Situational Leadership: Situational leadership is paramount in today’s workforce. With a diverse employee base, leaders must recognize that one size does not fit all. Understanding when and how to use different leadership styles with different individuals and situations is critical for success. Leaders should develop scenarios relevant to their teams and encourage discussion on how they would approach each situation differently based on individual needs and circumstances.

Embracing diversity and inclusion is essential for effective leadership. Leaders can create diverse, high-performing teams that drive organizational success by fostering a culture of inclusivity, combatting stereotypes and bias, and embracing effective leadership strategies.

Navigating Change: Essential Leadership Training

Every organization faces change, and leaders must know how to navigate it effectively. This presentation emphasizes the importance of change management in leadership training and offers valuable insights for guiding teams through transitions.

Coping with Change:  Leaders face the challenge of dealing with change, big or small. They must understand how to navigate these situations and effectively communicate with their teams. This includes dealing with new challenges, workflow disruptions, and employee feedback. With proper training, leaders can guide their teams to overcome obstacles brought about by change and maintain productivity.

Addressing Challenges and Opportunities: Change management presentations provide strategies for leaders to address the challenges and opportunities associated with organizational change. Organizations can navigate transitions smoothly by equipping leaders with the necessary tools and presentation techniques , minimizing team disruption, and maintaining business continuity.

Essential Skill for Leaders:  Managing change is a necessary skill for leaders in today’s fast-paced world. The rapid pace of change is driven by various factors like news cycles and social media, so leaders must be adept at managing transitions effectively. Books like “Leading Change” and “Our Iceberg is Melting” by John Kotter offer valuable insights into change management strategies that leaders can apply in their organizations.

Organizational Reflection:  Leaders can facilitate discussions within their teams about how they deal with change and the level of change their organization has experienced over the years. This reflection allows leaders to gain insights into their team’s resilience and adaptability and identify areas for improvement in change management processes.

Change management is an essential aspect of leadership training. By equipping leaders with the skills and strategies to navigate change effectively, organizations can ensure smooth transitions and maintain productivity during periods of change.

Mastering Decision Making: Key Leadership Training

Decision-making is an indispensable skill for effective leadership. This presentation idea explores the importance of strategic planning and informed decision-making, offering valuable insights for leadership training.

Goal Setting for Success:  Setting clear, attainable goals is fundamental for staying focused and achieving a leader’s purpose. Goals provide direction and help leaders prioritize what truly matters. For goals to be effective, they must be well-defined and achievable within a specific timeframe. This clarity ensures that leaders can measure progress and stay on track.

Strategic Planning and Decision Making:  A strategic planning presentation offers insights into setting achievable goals and making informed decisions. Leaders can use these strategies to guide company brainstorming sessions and leadership meetings, ensuring that decisions align with organizational objectives and drive success.

Data-Driven Decisions:  Leveraging data is crucial for making informed decisions. Leaders should prioritize using data and analytics to guide their decision-making processes. This includes implementing key performance indicators (KPIs), objectives and key results (OKRs), and other metrics to track performance. Data-driven insights help leaders make better choices and improve overall effectiveness.

Incorporating Data into Leadership Strategies: Effective leadership involves incorporating data-driven insights into strategies. By understanding and utilizing data, leaders can make more informed decisions that enhance team performance and organizational success. Data visualization presentations can guide how to integrate data analytics into everyday decision-making, ensuring leaders are equipped with the tools they need to succeed.

Mastering decision-making is essential for effective leadership. By setting clear goals, engaging in strategic planning, and leveraging data, leaders can make informed decisions that drive institutional success and foster a culture of continuous improvement.

Running Effective Meetings: Essential Leadership Training

Meetings are a cornerstone of company communication, but they can become unproductive without proper structure. This presentation idea focuses on strategies for managing effective meetings, offering essential insights for leadership training.

The Importance of Structure: Effective meetings require a clear objective and structure. Without these, meetings can waste time and reduce productivity. Leaders must learn to determine if a meeting is necessary, set proper leadership meeting agenda topics, and consider each team member’s strengths. By doing so, meetings can foster teamwork, accomplish goals, and boost overall productivity.

Agenda and Scheduling: A well-planned agenda is crucial for a leadership meeting. Leaders should outline key discussion points and allocate time for each topic. This ensures the meeting stays focused and covers all necessary information. Scheduling meetings conveniently for all participants also helps maintain focus and engagement.

Engagement and Focus:  It is essential to keep employees motivated and engaged during meetings. Leaders can use tips and tricks, such as interactive activities or breaks, to maintain focus. Ensuring that meetings are concise and to the point helps keep attendees’ attention and makes the meeting more productive.

Action Items:  Ending meetings with a set of action items is crucial for ensuring follow-through. Leaders should summarize the key points discussed and delegate tasks to team members with clear deadlines. This ensures accountability and helps track progress in meeting objectives.

Meeting or Email?: Not every discussion requires a meeting. Leaders should evaluate whether an email would suffice. Playing a game with attendees like “Meeting or Email?” can help illustrate this point. By providing examples and encouraging candid discussion, leaders can better discern when meetings are necessary and when other forms of communication are more efficient.

Managing effective meetings is a critical skill for leaders. Leaders can make the most of their team’s time and drive productivity by ensuring meetings have clear objectives and well-planned agendas and end with actionable tasks. This training gives leaders the tools to run productive and engaging sessions, enhancing overall organizational efficiency.

Accountability & Ethical Leadership: Building Trust and Integrity

Accountability and ethical leadership are crucial topics for effective leadership training. This presentation idea outlines the importance of these concepts and provides insights for fostering a culture of responsibility, credibility and integrity.

The Power of Accountability:  Accountability is a crucial trait of good leadership. Leaders who accept responsibility for their actions, whether positive or negative, earn the trust and respect of their employees. This trust leads to a more productive and positive work environment. Leadership training should focus on teaching behaviors that build and enhance accountability, promoting a workplace where honesty and responsibility are valued.

Cultivating Ethical Leadership:  Ethics are fundamental to successful leadership. Leaders must understand the importance of ethical behavior and its impact on organizational culture, employee morale, and long-term success. Training on ethical leadership should highlight the significance of ethics, provide strategies for maintaining high moral standards, and emphasize the need for ethical considerations in daily decision-making across all departments.

Building a Trustworthy Environment:  Organizations can create a trustworthy and reliable environment by combining accountability and ethical leadership. Leaders who embody these qualities set a positive example for their teams, fostering a culture of integrity and transparency. This environment encourages employees to act responsibly and uphold the organization’s values.

Practical Applications:  Leadership training should include practical applications of accountability and ethical leadership. This can involve case studies, role-playing scenarios, and discussions on real-life situations where leaders demonstrated these qualities. Such exercises help leaders internalize and apply these concepts in their daily roles.

Long-Term Benefits:  Emphasizing accountability and ethical leadership leads to long-term benefits for organizations. It enhances team cohesion, improves decision-making processes, and builds a strong reputation for the organization. Leaders prioritizing these values contribute to sustainable success and a positive organizational culture.

Accountability and ethical leadership are essential components of effective leadership. By focusing on these topics in leadership training, organizations can develop trusted, responsible, and committed leaders to uphold high ethical standards, driving long-term success and a positive workplace culture.

Leadership Training: Keys to Effective Management

Leadership training ideas equip aspiring leaders with essential skills and tactics for effective management. It helps them understand their roles, view challenges as opportunities, and build confidence. Great leaders, distinguished by qualities like respect and communication skills, are pivotal in shaping organizations. They listen, learn, and adapt continuously, fostering a positive work environment. Leadership meetings are crucial in decision-making and aligning efforts towards a shared vision. Effective communication during these meetings ensures alignment, inspiration, and innovation. By focusing on these ideas for leadership, different types of presentations can resonate with leaders’ strategic mindsets and their roles in guiding the organization.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

1. What skills are essential for effective leadership?  

Key skills include communication, accountability, resilience, and the ability to inspire and influence teams. Leaders should also be adept at managing emotions and resolving conflicts.

2. How can leadership training benefit aspiring leaders?  

Training equips leaders with the necessary tactics and skills, builds confidence, and helps them understand their roles and team expectations, driving productivity and efficiency.

3. What role do leadership meetings play?  

Leadership meetings gather decision-makers to strategize, set goals, and align efforts, ensuring the company’s vision is communicated and pursued effectively.

4. Why is communication important for leaders?  

Effective communication ensures clarity, fosters trust, empowers teams, and drives morale and productivity, making it a critical skill for leaders to master.

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Communication Methods: 5 Ways to Communicate at the Workplace

Corporate communication functions and its importance, barriers to effective communication: 14 common communication barriers.

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25 Best Free Leadership PowerPoint PPT Presentation Templates to Download 2024

As a business leader, it's pretty certain you're going to have to do a leadership PowerPoint presentation. In fact, you'll probably have to present regularly. Presenting effectively is a must-have leadership skill. So, it's important to learn how to make your presentations compelling. 

One key aspect of that is the visual design of your slides. Of course, not everyone's a whiz at designing presentation slides from scratch, but luckily, you don't have to be. Using premium PowerPoint templates for a leadership presentation is a good way to make sure that your presentation is professional.

In this guide, I'll share some of the best leadership PowerPoint templates , paid and free, to help you get—and keep—your audience's attention.

Best Premium PowerPoint Templates for Leadership Presentations on Envato Elements (With Unlimited Use)

If you're looking for premium leadership PowerPoint presentation templates to help you impress your audience, Envato Elements has a great offer you won't want to miss. Download as many premium leadership presentation PPT slides as you want, all for one low price.   

Here are some of the benefits of using premium leadership PPT templates for your presentations. 

First, a professional design can give your presentations that wow factor that makes your audience sit up and take notice. That's precisely the effect you want to achieve when presenting. 

And don't underestimate the impact of the professional design you'll get. It'll help your presentation look coherent . Plus, using professional leadership PowerPoint templates can save you time. That's useful if you've got a lot of presentations to create, or if slide design isn't your favorite task. 

So, it's a good idea to check out the premium leadership PowerPoint presentation templates on Envato Elements. Here's how you find them. 

Visit Envato Elements and select Presentation Templates next to the search box. Type leadership into the search box. You'll have dozens of premium leadership PowerPoint templates to choose from. Check out the previews till you find the one you want. 

When you've found a template select it, click Download , and start customizing. I'll share some tips on customizing a leadership PowerPoint presentation later in this guide. 

Envato Elements is a great choice if you're creating leadership PPT presentations regularly. But if you want leadership presentation PPT slides for one-off use, check out the PowerPoint templates for leadership presentations available from GraphicRiver.

5 Great Premium Leadership PowerPoint Templates from Envato Elements and GraphicRiver

To help you get started, here are some attractive premium  leadership PowerPoint presentation templates from Envato Elements and GraphicRiver: 

1. MOUVE - Elegant PowerPoint Template

Mouve is a minimalist, professional leadership PPT template. It'll help you communicate your points clearly and effectively. It includes 50 different slides as well as icons for customization. Plus, it's easy to edit. 

2. Speaker Up - Google Slides Template

Sometimes simple PowerPoint templates for leadership presentations work the best. At other times you want variety. SpeakerUp has three color schemes, 12 variations and 360 different slides in total. This professional theme is easy to edit and can be used in both Google Slides and PowerPoint. 

3. Balance - PowerPoint Template

If you're looking for examples of PowerPoint presentations on leadership, Balance is a full-featured starting point. Fully editable, and including icons and mockups, this leadership PowerPoint theme included more than 145 slides. 

4. Leadership

This collection of leadership presentation PPT slides will get your presentation off to a great start. It's easy to change fonts, themes, and colors to customize your presentation just the way you like it. All elements are simple to edit via the drag and drop interface.

5. Dinamika – Creative Business PowerPoint Template

Dinamika is a colorful leadership PPT template set. It includes 36 slides with customizable and resizeable graphics. This is an excellent choice for a creative presentation with lots of images. 

25 Top Free Leadership PowerPoint PPT Templates to Download for 2024 Presentations

There's no doubt that premium leadership presentation PPT slides offer an advantage in terms of design and flexibility. Plus, they save you time because you don't have to worry about fiddly design details.

But before you look for free leadership PowerPoint templates on the web, check out Envato Elements' freebies first. You'll get to try out free PowerPoint presentations on leadership while benefiting from premium design. 

Here's how it works:

• Every month Envato Elements offers 12 different hand-selected files, (fonts, presentations, videos, and more). Create a free account to download this month's free premium files now. 
• Or try Envato Market for free. They offer seven handpicked monthly freebies. Log in with your Envato Market account to get this month's handpicked premium freebies . 

But if your budget is tight, sometimes free leadership templates for presentations are what you can manage. To help you out, we've found some great leadership PowerPoint templates free to download on the web:

1. Bright Business Presentation

This is one of many free leadership PowerPoint templates on the Microsoft Office site. It's got a simple and businesslike design. 

2. Academic Presentation

This is another free leadership PowerPoint template from Microsoft. Though it's got an academic theme, the elegant design will work well in leadership settings.

3. Green Pitch Deck

If you need to make a pitch, this useful theme is another of the leadership PowerPoint templates free to download. It's an attractive way to showcase company information. Change the color scheme if necessary.

4. Training Presentation

This leadership PowerPoint template has a simple design and includes 14 slides. This is a good starting point for a leadership training presentation. 

5. Employee Training Presentation

This free leadership PowerPoint theme is suitable if you want to keep your presentation short and sweet. It's got just nine slides and is set up for delivering training courses.

6. Marshmallow

Looking for some inspiration for free? Presentations on leadership using templates are also an option. Marshmallow has a cool color scheme that's sure to appeal to your audience. 

7. Business Plan Presentation Template

This leadership PPT template is available in an attractive, muted color scheme. It'll give your presentations a professional look. 

8. Corporate Free PowerPoint

Here are templates for free PowerPoint presentations on leadership. This modern design is easy to edit, includes vector graphics, and has 10 slides. 

9. Business Consulting

Business Consulting is a free leadership PowerPoint theme. It uses a businesslike blue, white and black color scheme to create attractive slides. 

10. Business Company

This is one of several leadership PowerPoint templates free to download. It includes 16 easy to edit slides and has an understated color scheme. 

11. Investor Pro

When choosing PowerPoint templates for leadership presentation sometimes it can help to match it to your intended use. This theme is intended for investor presentations. It includes 16 relevant slide designs. 

12. Free Annual Report PowerPoint Template

If you're looking to create an annual report quickly (we've got annual report tips, too), then check out this free leadership PPT template. It includes 16 attractive slides. 

13. ProjectX Free Business PowerPoint Template

Here's another of many leadership PowerPoint templates that are free to download. ProjectX has a simple, attractive design suitable for many uses. It includes 16 slides.  

14. Free Corporate PowerPoint Template

Looking for more free PowerPoint presentations on leadership? This one has a muted color scheme and includes slides relating to common business topics. 

15. Free Corporate Company Presentation Template

Here's another of the free leadership templates. The slide set includes templates for quotes, financials and more.

16. Free Business Presentation Template

This blue-grey presentation template is suitable for a wide range of presentations. It's preset with the basic slides you need and will also work in Google Slides. 

17. Free Go-To-Market Strategy PowerPoint Template

For examples of PowerPoint presentations on leadership, check out this go-to-market template. It gives you an outline of what you need for this kind of presentation. It's also free.

18. Start Up Corporation PowerPoint Template

Launching a startup? Then this is a great template to use for a leadership presentation. It's minimalist yet colorful and will get attention.

19. Business Pitch Deck PowerPoint Template

This pitch deck template has an attractive and unusual design. It's a great example of a PowerPoint presentation on leadership for you to follow.

20. Investor Business PowerPoint Template

This leadership presentation PPT template uses serif fonts to achieve a crisp and formal look. At the same time, the minimalist design keeps it looking modern and attractive.

21. Cute Confetti

If fun is one of your leadership qualities, this PPT download is the way to go. The mixture of confetti and pastel keeps it cheerful.

22. Concentric Blue

This PowerPoint theme has a modern design and blue color scheme. It includes 25 slides, as well as icons and a world map.

23. Medical Illustrated

Here's a different kind of free leadership PPT presentation theme. This one is intended for medical presentations and the slides include relevant illustrations. 

24. Bassett

This is a well-designed theme for your next leadership PowerPoint presentation. It includes a variety of slide designs. Edit it using either PowerPoint or Google Slides. 

This is a professional theme, perfect for your next leadership presentation. It includes a range of slide designs. Edit it in either PowerPoint or Google Slides.

How to Quickly Make Great Leadership PowerPoint Presentations

Once you've downloaded your free leadership templates, the next step is to customize them to meet your needs. Here are some tips to get you started. I'll be using the premium  Hexagon PowerPoint template . 

Let's get started:

1. Edit Your Slide Title and Subtitles

I'm going to use the title slide for this. Open the presentation and go to the title slide. Double-click to select the slide title and replace it with your chosen text. Follow the same procedure to edit subtitles.

2. Add Text to Slides

Use a similar procedure to edit body text. Double-click within a text box to select all the text, then replace it by typing your own. You can also paste in pre-prepared text. 

3. Add or Resize Images

Click the onscreen image placeholder to import an image from your computer. You can also resize any image by grabbing the handles of the image placeholder and dragging them till you get the size you want.

4. Remove Unwanted Elements

On any slide, click to select an image or text box you want to remove. Then use the Delete key on your keyboard to remove it. 

5. Remove Extra Slides

At the end of the customization process, there may be a few slides you don't need. Select these in PowerPoint's slide navigator and use the Cut command to remove them.

5 Tips for a More Effective Leadership Presentation

You need your leadership PPT to engage your audience. Here are some tips to help you create a great leadership presentation:

1. Use Minimal Design

When making your leadership PPT presentation it's important to keep the information on slide minimal. You want your audience to focus on you and not be reading the slide. Having a minimal design also works because the design doesn’t make the slide overcrowded. An overcrowded slide can cause the audience to be distracted.

2. Choose the Right Font

Using the right font in your leadership PPT is important. You want the font to match the theme of your leadership PPT. You also need your font to be easily read by everyone who may see your presentation. Some fancy fonts can be hard to read.

To learn more about which fonts work well in presentations, study this tutorial:

3. Use Infographics and Graphs

Infographics are a great tool to use in your leadership presentation. Infographics use graphics to show data and other information. Infographics are also a great way to engage your audience and help them to retain information. 

4. Align Your Objects

Whether you’re creating your own leadership presentation or customizing a template, make sure objects and text are aligned. If text and objects aren’t aligned, it can look unprofessional and sloppy.

This tutorial will show you how to align objects:

5. Use High Quality Visuals

There are many types of visuals such as:

• infographics

If you've got these elements in your leadership PPT it's important that that they're high quality. If your visuals are low quality, it can look unprofessional or like you don't care.

Envato Elements is a good source for high quality images and infographics . They also have video templates that you can customize and add to your presentation. 

5 Leadership Presentation Design Trends for 2024

If you're giving a leadership PPT presentation, you want it to be up to date. A boring and dated look could make a bad impression.

Here are some popular leadership presentation design trends:

1. Muted Colors

Previously bright vibrant colors were on trend, but now muted colors are taking over. Muted colors are more calming and give an authentic and natural feel. Muted colors work well with both light and dark font making it easier to design your slides.

2. Geometric Shapes

Geometric shapes in the design of leadership presentations is the newest trend. Geometric shapes give a nostalgic and retro feel to your presentation. Geometric shapes also make fun and unique backgrounds.

 3. Animated Slides

Animated slides keeps your audience’s attention on your leadership presentation. Adding animation to a slide can make information and that slide more exciting. Animated slides are impressive and will impress your audience.

4. Alternate Between Color Slides and White Slides

Alternating colors on the slides keeps them visually interesting for the audience. You could use your company brand colors and alternate between them to reenforce your brand recognition. The color change between slides could also signal a topic change in your presentation.

5. Gradient Colors

A gradient color pattern is where one color gradually fades into another color. Gradient colors are a great way to add interest to your slides without going over the top. Gradient colors can be used as the background of your slides or for  objects on the slide.

Discover More Awesome Microsoft PowerPoint Template Designs

We've shared some attractive templates with you, paid and free. To see even more, check out the articles below:

Learn More About Making Great PowerPoint Presentations in 2024

To learn more about creating leadership PowerPoint presentations, read our in-depth PowerPoint tutorial guide. Or check out the tutorials below:

Common Microsoft PowerPoint Questions Answered (FAQs)

Whether you're just starting with Microsoft PowerPoint or have been using it a while, it's normal to have some questions. Here are common questions answered about Microsoft PowerPoint:

1. What's the Difference Between Object Animations and Animated Transitions?

Object animations are objects such as text or shapes going in motion on a slide. Animated transitions are animations that play when you move from one side to the next. To learn how to add animation to your leadership slides in PowerPoint, study this tutorial: 

2. Can I Reduce My PowerPoint File Size?

Do you need to send your leadership PPT presentation to your coworkers but are worried that it won’t fit in an email? Don’t worry. You can reduce the file size. For information about how to reduce your PowerPoint file size down check out this tutorial: 

3. How Do I Share a Leadership PPT Presentation in a Zoom meeting?

Figuring out a new software or learning how to use the software in a new way can be tricky. These days, learning how to give a presentation over Zoom is really useful knowledge to have. Here's a tutorial to help you out: 

4. How Do I Make a Chart or Graph for My Leadership PPT?

Charts and graphs can be great tools to show data in your presentation. Seeing charts and graphs engages your audience more than a list of numbers. Here's a tutorial on how to make charts and graphs in PowerPoint: 

5. How Do I Make the Leadership Slides in my PowerPoint More Interesting?

Having a boring leadership PPT presentation can mean that your presentation is forgettable. Interesting slides keep your audience engaged throughout your presentation. And they make it more memorable. Here are some tips on how to make your presentation design more interesting: 

Create Your Next Leadership PowerPoint Presentation Today

You've seen some appealing PowerPoint templates for leadership presentations, including some free leadership PowerPoint templates. As you decide which templates to use, remember that premium templates offer some advantages over free templates on the web. 

Check out the leadership PowerPoint templates available from Envato Elements. You can also try leadership PowerPoint templates on GraphicRiver. It offers dozens of leadership presentation PPT slides for you to try. 

Why not create your leadership PowerPoint presentation today? Download your favorite leadership PPT template and get started.

Editorial Note : This post has been updated with contributions from Sarah Joy . Sarah is a freelance instructor for Envato Tuts+.

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Leadership Topics for Presentation

Have a presentation or a meeting coming up? Need to find leadership training topics to present on or leadership topics for discussion? The Leadership Mission has you covered! Below is our list of leadership training topics, leadership topics for discussion, leadership exercises and leadership team building activities we have compiled that are impactful for leaders at any level. These are designed to get your wheels turning and have proven to be successful across many different organizations.

Want to jump quickly to one particular section? Here are some helpful links!

Leadership Training Topics

Leadership Topics for Presentation and Discussion

Leadership Team Building Activities

Leadership exercises.

The following leadership training topics are great for leaders at any level. These work best in smaller meetings or groups. These topics are designed to generate great discussion and hopefully yield higher functioning managers.

Soft skills

Soft skills are personal attributes that enable someone to interact effectively and harmoniously with other people. These are critically important in today's workforce as now more than ever our workforces require employees to be able to communicate, work as a team, listen and get along with others. Here is a very brief list of soft skills but this topic is HUGE and you could easily turn each of these topics into presentations.

Communication

Problem-solving

Time management

Critical thinking

Decision-making

Organizational

Stress management

Adaptability

Conflict management

Resourcefulness

Openness to criticism

Change management

Today's world changes faster than arguably any other time in history. Between 24 hour news cycles, social media and the explosion in communication methods between individuals, managing change is an essential skill any leader must have. There are a couple of excellent books on this topic by John Kotter called Leading Change and Our Iceberg is Melting. You can also have a good discussion about how your team deals with change and how much change your organization has (or hasn't) had over the years.

Managing effective meetings

Meetings consume so much of the average working person's time. No matter what kind of job you have, meetings are most likely a part of their day or week at some point. How effective are your people at running effective meetings? When was the last time anyone ever thought about it?

A great subtopic for this presentation can be a study and/or game you can play with your attendees call meeting or email? I'm sure you could easily find a handful of examples of meetings that could have been emails (and vice versa) and let your attendees have some fun guessing. Don't be surprised when your team becomes very candid during this meeting about the need for meetings!

Performance management

Managing the performance of others is an extremely important part of any leader's job. Leader's must also be managers and cannot simply rely on connecting with and "leading" people. At the end of the day, we all have hard metrics we are responsible for. One of the most important ones, is the performance of those that work for us.

This topic doesn't get nearly as much attention as it should and I guarantee you can get some good discussions going around the most effective way to do this for you organization. You can discuss how often this happens, annually, bi-annually, monthly? You can discuss what format it is done in and how the teams respond to them. Get your groups thoughts on the effectiveness of your current system and brainstorm if there isn't a better way.

The Six Styles of Leadership

Developed by Daniel Goleman, the six styles have been a staple part of the discussion around situational leadership for awhile. They describe the different ways you need to lead depending on the situation, the people and various other factors. There is plenty of discussion to be had with this topic and is great for new leaders!

The six styles are as follows:

Visionary — mobilize people toward a vision. Works best when a clear direction or change is needed.

Coaching — develop people for the future. Works best when helping people and building long-term strength.

Affiliative — create emotional bonds and harmony. Works best to heal rifts in teams or motivate people in stressful times.

Democratic — build consensus through participation. Works best to create consensus or get input.

Pacesetting — expect excellence and self-direction. Works best to get quick results from a highly competent team.

Commanding — demand immediate compliance. Works best in crisis or with problematic people.

Managing an inbox

This is something that gets taken for granted all of the time and would make a great leadership topic for presentation. The organization, efficiency and 'cleanliness' of inboxes today can be a sensitive subject. No one wants to admit to having thousands of unread emails just sitting there but chances are, most of your leaders do.

How do you as a company manage that? When was the last time anyone cared? Effective inbox organization can do wonders in taking a manager from good to great. It might also get a good conversation started around communication as a whole in your organization.

Managing a calendar

Just like the inbox, calendar's are criminally misused or underused. They can be a great way to manage the obvious things like meetings and calls. However, they can also be a great way to hold teams accountable, document what you did for reflection and serve as a sort of task list for leaders.

Don't make the assumption that everyone knows how to use the calendars. Technology changes so fast and new features come out all of the time. Even if someone in leadership learned how to use outlook ten years ago in college, it might be completely different now!

Leadership Topics For Presentation & Discussion

This section is about topics that make for great discussions or presentations. Whether it be a small group or large one, these topics are always important in the world of business today.

Virtual leadership

Thanks to 2020, so many of us have had to get used to working virtually, which means we've also had to lead virtually as well. This topic is sure to generate discussion on what is working, not working and how everyone feels about it.

This is sure to be an important topic moving forward as companies must decide what their "new normal" is going to be. You might be surprised at how effective or ineffective working virtually is/was. It might open the door to other conversations surrounding flexibility in the workplace.

Most businesses come down to some sort of execution. Whether it be making widgets, serving guests, healing patients or selling goods, every business has some sort of metric when it comes to executing the core function of the business. When was the last time you discussed not only the results but overall execution as a whole? Can you guarantee that the way things are supposed to be done are actually being done?

Additionally, you can discuss training of new hires, repair and maintenance of equipment, employee productivity and anything that goes into actually getting the job done.

When was the last time your organization had a conversation about your company culture? Are expectations meeting reality? Does your team/company know what culture they are supposed to be creating? Having an open and honest conversation about your company culture is a healthy exercise for any company.

It is extremely important that there be a strong moderator for this conversation as it is easy to go off the rails with this subject. That statement shouldn't dissuade you from having the conversation though! A great book on this topic is Good to Great by Jim Collins.

Company specific leadership topics for discussion/presentation

Do you have specific tasks, goals, metrics or items that your leaders should be discussing with their teams? Have you set an agenda that is being pushed down through the organization? Putting together a list similar to this specific for your team might be helpful for your mid level leaders. This list can give them a clean and easily accessible company approved list of topics they should be discussing with their teams.

Giving your leaders a list of exercises that they could practice either by themselves or with their teams makes a great leadership training topic. It is always extremely important to develop yourself as a leader and the other leaders in your organization. Here are some leadership exercises to get you started.

Quality circles

This isn't so much a topic as an activity but is highly effective, especially if your group allows for crossover from different departments, regions, etc. It is amazing how sometimes just putting a fresh set of eyes on a situation can create positive discussions or solutions around a problem. Spend some times thinking about your attendees and split them into smaller groups.

Come up with a top 5 list of challenges or obstacles that each group might be facing and have them discuss it in a "nameless & rankless" frank discussion. Assign a note taker to each group and charge them with capturing key points and takeaways and for keeping the group on point.

Difficult leadership situations

This is a great topic to discuss with your leaders, especially if your group has a good mix of leadership experience and tenure in it. The following situations are always important to talk about and discuss/share with other leaders. The growth that can come from just talking through some of these situations is priceless. Depending on the size of your group, you can either discuss as a whole or break into small groups and have them discuss the following topics:

Dealing with difficult or problem employees

Handling your team's stress and pressure

Letting someone go

Delivering bad news

Leading an initiative you don't agree with

Managing underperforming employees

Internal leadership challenges

This often gets such little attention, yet is one of the most important factors leaders must deal with, their own feelings. Managing your own emotions and generally how you feel about something is way easier said than done. Just like the previous item, having a good mix of leadership experience and tenure is a great.

Just talking about how their fellow leaders handle the following topics can be vitally important for new leaders and great reminders and encouragement for experienced leaders. Unlike the previous item though, it is crucially important that attendees feel comfortable being open. It is one thing to talk about topics that impact others or are conceptual and something entirely different to discuss personal struggles!

Staying humble

Self confidence

Overcoming fear

Handling personal stress and pressure

Avoiding burnout

Staying motivated

Compartmentalizing competing priorities

Keeping work life balance

Situational leadership scenarios

Situational leadership is extremely important in today's modern workforce. Diversity of all types in employee bases has exploded in the last several decades. That means managers and leaders cannot treat everyone the same. A leader that understands using different leadership styles with different people and at different times is critical.

Develop some scenarios that are relevant to your group and ask them to decide how they would approach one differently over another. There is a fantastic book written by Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson on this topic called the One Minute Manager that is a quick read and is very beneficial to new leaders!

The following items are great team builders for small groups or meetings in any professional setting. They are designed to bring team's together, develop teamwork and give any observing leaders some data points about their people!

Build a building

Break your group into small even teams and provide them with their building materials consisting of any combination of the following:

index cards

tooth picks

playing cards

Don't stress over which materials you give them, just as long as it is enough to build a free standing building with! The object is simple, which team can build the largest free standing structure.

Things to consider with this activity:

How will you divide your teams? Be purposeful in how you break them up

Have the teams assign a 'project manager' ahead of time

Take mental notes of how the teams interact and how the assigned managers perform

Qualities of a leader

Break employees into teams and have them share leaders they admire (in any industry). Take notes on the characteristics that these leaders share, then give employees time and space to reflect on the characteristics they share with those leaders before identifying skills they would like to develop in themselves

Use employee notes on skills they would like to develop to design your own training opportunities.

Use employee notes and compare them to your organization. A sort of 'expectations vs reality' mental exercise.

These lists are in no way exhaustive we just think these leadership training activities are great for effective presentations or meetings that will grow the leadership abilities of your team! We'd love to hear from you in the comments below! Or feel free to shoot us an email [email protected]

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10 PRESENTATION TIPS TO IMPRESS SENIOR LEADERS

Tip 1: prepare, tip 2: begin with the end in mind.

• What do you want this audience to feel when they’re done?
• What do you want them to know when you’re done?
• What do you want them to do, when you’re done?

TIP 3: BE CLEAR AND CONCISE

Tip 4: tell stories, tip 5: keep slides minimal.

Provide extra information in your slide notes

TIP 6: CHANNEL NERVOUS ENERGY INTO USABLE ENERGY

The best way to feel confident is to practice.

5 to 7 full rehearsals

TIP 7: PRE-PRESENTATION WARM UP

Breathe low and slow.

WARM UP YOUR BODY

Warm up your mouth, tip 8: have vocal executive presence, tip 9: commanding the space.

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TIP 10: AUTHENTIC SPEAKER PERSONA

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Impactful presentations are not a rocket science: 6 tips for leaders.

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Knowing how to present and get a buy-in is an important leadership skill

If you are a professional who has been around the block for even a little while, you probably got to sit on your fair share of tedious and unremarkable presentations. You may have contributed to this form of corporate torture yourself.

Presentations don’t have to be boring. They should inspire engagement, curiosity, discussion and generation of new ideas and solutions.

Here are six easy tips to make your presentations better:

• Plan and prepare for your presentation
• Grab their attention from the start
• Tell them what you're going to talk about
• Keep it simple: Less is more
• Practice makes perfect
• Finish strong

1. Plan and prepare for your presentation

Know your audience

What are their interests/pain points/level of concern with or knowledge of your topic?

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Best covid-19 travel insurance plans.

What would they find more important/interesting?

Time allocation

This may be one of the most neglected aspects of presentation prep.

Adapt your content to the amount of time you have to present.

DO NOT bring a 50-slide PowerPoint to a 10-minute presentation.

My simple rule of thumb is 10-12 slides per hour of presentation.

Identify key messages

You live in the details of your work and analysis but your audience does not.

Before you share your insights, figure out your most critical data points to share. These are the things you absolutely need your audience to get out of your presentation.

The rest is optional and can go into the appendix.

What action do you want them to take at the end?

The answer to this should drive the entire structure and story you are going to tell.

• Agree to your proposal-> present the pros and cons.
• Decide to invest- > present the expected returns, risks, how much money you need and what for?
• Buy a product or service -> explain the features, the benefits to customers and who else loved it, etc.

2. Grab their attention from the start

People have limited attention spans , a phenomenon has been getting worse with the infinite distractions we are subject to from our digital devices .

Hooking your audience from the start is therefore crucial.

There are many ways to do so. For example, tell a story they can connect to, share a surprising statistic (like: did you know that 80% of business professionals shifted their focus from the speaker in a recent presentation they watched ?), or present a compelling visual.

Once you have hooked them, you must tell them why they should listen to you.

Give them context: What is the relevance of your presentation? What problem are you trying to solve? What is in it for them? Why should they care?

Note: part of the context you should provide is and introduction about yourself and why you can credibly speak on the subject matter (unless they already know you well).

3. Tell them what you're going to talk about

One of the easiest ways of helping your audience to stay on track with your presentation is to explain its structure in advance.

A simple way to do so is through an agenda items slide.

It is also beneficial to remind your audience what you expect them to get out of this presentation and if relevant, what you want them to be able to do by the end of the session (ex: learn something new, give feedback, agree on a course of action, solve a problem, etc).

4. Keep it simple: Less is more

An easy way to bore your audience to death is to use your slide as a script (i.e. fill it up with text and graphics and read from it). It's also a strong signal to your audience that you came unprepared.

Once you display this busy slide, you lose your audience. They are reading the content and trying to figure it out. They stop listening to you.

Instead, use short and clear bullet points, not more than a few words in each sentence. Use images instead of words, when possible. Animate bullet points if you have more than three to show. Spread your message across multiple slides.

In case you absolutely need to use a script (for example, because your need to be extremely precise or have a language barrier as a non-native speaker), you should still keep your slides clean and simple but may bring a paper with your talking points along.

5. Practice makes perfect

Watching a famous speaker do his or her thing (like these speeches from Michelle Obama and Simon Sinek ), you may think to yourself that you do not stand a chance; you were not born with that kind of talent.

You must know that these folks often have practiced days on end and gave the same presentation (or versions of it) many times before you got to see it. They also most likely used media training coaches.

The polished version is something that has been perfected to look "natural."

Don't get discouraged.

Excellent presentation skills are not innate. They are the fruit of much practice and gained experience.

The best way to become great at presenting is by presenting regularly. So look for opportunities to put yourself out there and tweak your strategies based on your audience's reactions.

One pro tip: rehearse for important presentations with a trusted audience (whether it's a colleague, a friend, or your significant other) and get their feedback. Voicing your ideas and seeing how they land, testing the amount of time it takes to speak through your content and walking through the flow of the presentation will make a big difference in tweaking your delivery for the final presentation.

6. Finish strong

People will remember the first and last things you say in your presentation ( due to the primacy and recency effects ).

Inexperienced speakers often remember to have strong introductions but their presentations fizzle out by the time they get to the end (especially if they have too much content and need to rush through it to finish on time).

Don't make the same mistake. Make sure that your presentation finishes on a strong note.

Hook your audience once again: call them to action (ex: next steps!), remind them of your key messages through a simple summary and/or inspire them to think further.

What about you? What are some of the presentation strategies you've acquired along the way?

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Keynotes for Leaders

Empowering your organization with the latest leadership best practices

Presentation Topics

At Keynotes for Leaders , we bring top-notch leadership experts to you.

The success of your organization begins with leadership development. Combining the latest leadership best practices with extensive training experience, our speakers and facilitators prepare your company to thrive.

Here’s a sampling of the presentation topics our speakers deliver – in person or virtually.

Don’t see what you need? Contact us today to discuss how we can customize a topic just for you.

Keynote and Workshop Presentation Topics

Building your resilience in the time of covid.

Your team members are experiencing extremely high levels of stress, managing both work and life at home . Plus, companies are trying to do more with less, further increasing your team’s workload (and stress). These resilience tips will help you and your staff externalize that pressure and regain a feeling of control during this time of COVID.

Effective Feedback: the why, when, what, and how

Employees are more motivated to take action to improve performance when you give them direct feedback. But do you know how to do this in a way that promotes psychological safety? These tips will make you STOP and think before giving feedback, and help you prepare to give feedback your staff will want to hear. So you can create a culture of continuous improvement.

To get a taste of this session, watch this complimentary, 15-minute workshop on the topic.

Examining and Responding to Microaggressions Productively

In this session, we’ll push beyond the typical business case for inclusion to explore the psychological impacts of exclusionary behavior. We’ll define microaggressions, identify different types, and explore ways in which they show up in organizational life. And finally, we’ll examine our own roles in committing microaggressions and how we can respond in productive ways to ensure people feel safe and heard.

Every Conversation Matters

Like the air we breathe, conversations can be life-giving, inspiring, and empowering. Or they can be downright oppressive and soul-sucking, making you feel disconnected, discouraged, and even offended. The ability to have conversations that matter is one of the most important and under-developed skills for personal and professional success. It all comes down to just a few key skills – and we’ll help you turn them into habits.​

How to Build Your High Performing Team

How do you craft the team everyone wants to join? How to shape the high performing team that everyone talks about? It begins with your understanding of team needs. Then you work to meet these needs by creating meaning, process, and psychological safety. This presentation will guide you through proven team research and recent insights from Google and others so you can build the team you’ve always wanted to lead.

How to Develop as a Leader

83% of businesses say it’s important to develop leaders at all levels, yet less than 5% are actually doing this. You can take ownership of your own development. Learn about the 3 conditions of growth you can easily create for yourself – and your people – that will significantly impact growth and development. These simple tips and action steps can create opportunities for you to become a more effective leader – starting as early as TODAY.

To get a taste of this session, watch this complimentary, 12-minute workshop on the topic.

Managing the PEOPLE SIDE of Innovation

Innovation happens for many reasons. Sometimes it’s simply due to luck. Other times, leaders have fostered the right conditions to make it happen. This interactive presentation looks at those processes and explores how you can extend your sphere of influence throughout your company to ensure that success. Brainstorming the idea is the easy part, building the solution is harder, and getting it out to the market profitably is devilishly difficult. We’ll arm you with strategies to improve innovation efforts within your team and within your organization. 

Navigating Organizational Politics

Attempting to “avoid” the politics of any organization can lead to stress and division. Every company and team has politics of some sort, so you need to learn to manage them. And it’s wisest to embrace a smart attitude and implement a methodical process to navigate the politics. In this module, we’ll explore a unique set of strategies – proper entrance, preventative maintenance, and engaging top cover – to achieve successful ends and productive relationships.

To get a taste of this session, watch this complimentary, 25-minute workshop on the topic.

The Power of Marketing to Sell Your Ideas

Everyone, from the CEO to your IT personnel, needs to learn the basics of Marketing. Who’s your target market for your next proposal? Which communications channels do they prefer? What’s the right message that will grab their attention? This session will give you insight into how to determine the best approach to win your audience’s support so you can sell your ideas internally – and externally.

What’s Your Influence Style?

Influence plays a role in many complex situations. Learning about your Influence Style can help you pinpoint the right technique to use to achieve success. In this presentation, you’ll discover your preferred style and how to flex, given the needs of those you must influence.

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Are You Ready to Be a Leader?

If you want to lead, ask yourself these questions first.

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What distinguishes a leader? How do you know if you’re ready to lead? And how do you make the transition into a leadership role?

The shift from being part of a team to leading one isn’t like flipping a switch. It’s a process, and it can be awkward. It can be especially difficult your identity differs from other leaders in your organization — for example, if you’re a young leader in an organization dominated by older leaders, or a woman in a male-dominated organization.

In this episode, two leadership coaches, Amy Su and Muriel Wilkins of Paravis Partners, explain how to develop a leadership presence that’s both authentic to you and resonates with others. You’ll also learn some deeper questions to ask yourself during your transition into leadership.

Key episode topics include: leadership, gender, authenticity, leadership presence, transitions, influencing others, leadership style, leadership journey.

HBR On Leadership curates the best case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, to help you unlock the best in those around you. New episodes every week.

• Listen to the original Women at Work episode: Seeing Ourselves as Leaders (2019)
• Find more episodes of Women at Work .
• Discover 100 years of Harvard Business Review articles, case studies, podcasts, and more at HBR.org .

HANNAH BATES: Welcome to HBR on Leadership , case studies and conversations with the world’s top business and management experts, hand-selected to help you unlock the best in those around you.

The shift from being part of a team to leading one isn’t like flipping a switch. It’s a process…and it can be awkward. Convincing other people that you can and should lead is hard enough. But how do you convince yourself?

And that can be especially difficult if none of your identity groups – whether gender, race, class, geography, or age – have helped to define the cultural norms of leadership.

No matter who you are, the transition into management can raise difficult questions. Today we bring you a conversation about what distinguishes a leader, how to know if you’re ready to be one, and how to make that transition – with the help of two leadership coaches: Amy Su and Muriel Wilkins of Paravis Partners.

In this episode, you’ll learn how to develop your leadership presence in a way that’s authentic to you and resonates with others.

You’ll also learn about the deeper questions you should ask yourself as a leader.

This episode originally aired on Women at Work in December 2019. Here it is.

AMY BERNSTEIN: I remember the first time I was really challenged to stop being, you know, a follower and be a leader. A colleague saw me in a context where I was supposed to be leading, and I evidently wasn’t because she came up to me afterwards and she said, what are you waiting for? Who are you waiting to say, and now Amy is the leader?

AMY GALLO: Right.

AMY BERNSTEIN: And you were, you were given every opportunity, and you just blew it.

AMY GALLO: Huh.

AMY BERNSTEIN: And she was so right. She was so right. I mean, I felt like crap when she said it. But you know, that prompted a lot of soul-searching.

AMY GALLO: And what did you do differently?

AMY BERNSTEIN: I looked for opportunities to steer and to offer guidance. And instead of asking a question, I would offer my view, here’s what I would recommend. It was really sort of a — I had to switch the channel from being, you know, I guess I viewed myself as just one of many people on the team to taking ownership and recognizing that if this thing we were working on failed, I would be the one to blame. And it was really like that self-generated thing, where you realize that it’s up to you to make it work.

AMY BERNSTEIN: You’re listening to Women at Work from Harvard Business Review. I’m Amy Bernstein.

AMY GALLO: I’m Amy Gallo.

NICOLE TORRES: And I’m Nicole Torres. Making the transition from being one of many on a team, an individual contributor, a follower — however you’d like to think of that role — to being a leader is a process. It’s a process of not just convincing other people to see us as leaders, but also of convincing ourselves that we can and should lead. This episode we are going to be exploring this process of becoming a leader, including the soul-searching that women in particular often have to do to get there. Our guests are experts on leadership development and friends of the show. You might remember Muriel Wilkins from our episode on visibility and Amy Su from our episode on claiming credit. They founded the executive coaching firm Paravis Partners and wrote a book together called Own the Room. And Amy Su just came out with a new book, The Leader You Want to Be.

AMY BERNSTEIN: I was away when this interview happened. So, Amy G. and Nicole will take it from here. I’ll be back later in the episode.

AMY GALLO: Amy and Muriel, thank you so much for joining us.

MURIEL WILKINS: Thank you.

AMY SU: It’s great to be here.

AMY GALLO: My very first question is, do you remember the first time that you were being seen as a leader — but like the moment you realized, Oh, actually other people see me as a leader?

MURIEL WILKINS: Hmm, that’s a great question. I have to think about that one for a little bit. It was my first supervisory job, which, looking back now, I was naively very young and thrusted into this role and having to supervise individuals who were far more experienced than I was. And while I knew that I was there as a supervisor and as a manager, I certainly didn’t see myself as a leader — but everybody else did. And it took a couple of big fails for me to step into the leadership role and recognize that it was much more than just making sure that people were doing what they were supposed to be doing. So, I do remember it. And now in hindsight probably a little bit more painfully than I’d like to.

AMY GALLO: How about you, Amy Su?

AMY SU: There was a day when I had really lost it on somebody who worked with me and you know, later when I debriefed with that person and you realized how much you were able to cause a bad day for somebody else. There’s just this moment that, wow, you know, perhaps I’m a leader now and my temperament and mood and state of being is actually going to impact the way others feel.

AMY GALLO: Right, that ripple effect. It sounds like for both of you it was not very positive and I think, you know, as we’ve been discussing this topic, we’ve talked about how it’s a bit like an awkward growth spurt to go from someone who’s an individual contributor focused on learning, absorbing, to someone who’s now seen as a leader. I’m curious if that’s how you think of it in your writing and your work with coaching clients. Is this sort of an awkward phase, an exciting phase? How do you characterize it?

MURIEL WILKINS: Yeah, yeah. I, you know, I never quite thought of it as awkward, but certainly an uncomfortable phase, which, as we all know, that’s where most of the growth happens. And it’s hard because on the one hand you want to go back to what you are comfortable with and what has made you successful up until now. And on the other hand, you know that you can step into the role that you’re currently in, the potential that you have. So certainly uncomfortable, can definitely be awkward. And at the same time, I think one of the inflection points that is really great for growth for anyone.

NICOLE TORRES: So, I see two challenges or two things that make this such an uncomfortable phase. And the first thing is like, do you see yourself as a leader? So kind of the stories you were describing when you’re placed into a position where you’re suddenly managing people, if you don’t think of yourself as a leader, you kind of have to get into that mindset and realize that your behaviors are going to be interpreted differently because you’re a leader and because you’re managing people. But then the other challenge is if you see yourself as a leader, but other people do not. So maybe you’ve stepped into a managerial role or maybe you’re leading a project and you see yourself as being the one making decisions, but you don’t necessarily feel like other people perceive you as that leader. Do you see those two challenges play out?

AMY SU: Nicole, I think, you know, both sides of that equation Muriel and I have definitely seen, where there’s both your own shift internally around realizing that you are a leader and that you are bringing a different business judgment and a different set of decision-making skills to the table. And at the same time as you mentioned, it’s also interesting to see how perception follows along with that. And I think in our coaching work we’ve always seen that the internal shift often happens sooner, quicker, with a greater pronouncement than perhaps how others view you.

AMY GALLO: Let’s take each of those in turn because I think the internal one, while it may happen quicker seems really, for many people, especially women, hard to make that leap. And I’m curious, when you coach clients who are making that leap, how do you help them? Like what are the major obstacles and how do you help them get there?

MURIEL WILKINS: In anything, right, the internal piece is the harder part. But it’s also the one that is most sustainable in terms of achieving the transformation or the change or the shift that you want to make, whether it’s in your career, or, quite frankly, even in your personal life. And I think with clients, one of the big things they really need to embrace is that being a leader or acting as a leader doesn’t necessarily require the hierarchical position. And so, a lot of them wait till they get the promotion, right? Till they’re the vice president, till they’re managing a team, assuming that that’s when they need to be quote unquote “leaderly.” As though it’s like, OK, it’s a rite of passage, you’re promoted, now you can wear your leadership hat. Whereas in reality, you should be preparing for this from day one. And I think with women, part of the challenge is that they are not necessarily conditioned for leadership positions early on, so they don’t get a ton of practice before they even enter the workplace. Right, if you look at the research even around, you know, the ability for women to raise their hands in classroom — or not women, young girls — you start seeing that dissonance very early on. And I think that follows women into the workplace. So a lot of what we have to work with them on is not just the mindset in terms of seeing themselves as a leader — what does that mean, how do they want to lead, how do they want to be known? — but also starting to understand that there are some specific skills that help in terms of establishing your leadership, asserting your leadership primarily around your communication skills, your ability to speak up, your ability to listen, your ability to ask good questions, how you lead your work and drive your work, as well as even your physical presence, right? How you hold yourself in a room, in a conversation, and can you do it in a way that again, makes you feel like you’re a leader and makes others feel like they’re in the presence of a leader as well?

AMY GALLO: One of the challenges for women is that many of them get the messages that in order to be a leader, you need to, you know, use typically masculine traits. I mean, this is one of the most popular articles we’ve ever published on HBR.org is about why so many incompetent men become leaders, and so much of it is about how we value confidence and assertiveness. And I think for some women, me included, the hesitancy to step into the role in the way you’re talking about is like, Do I have to do that? Right? Do I have to be assertive and aggressive and authoritative in order to be a leader? How do women get over that hurdle? How do we think about that?

MURIEL WILKINS: That is a big sort of life-asserting question that you’re posing here, right? Because the struggle and the tension is between what the world expects you to be and who you are. And so even this, you know, this concept of leadership looks one way, which is, quite frankly, the white masculine way,

NICOLE TORRES: Mhm.

MURIEL WILKINS: And so, from my standpoint, in working with women, it’s to A) get them to understand that it is a myth, that the real work starts from within, to understand who are you, what do you stand for? What are your principles? What is your way of being in the world, and the behaviors that make you who you are? And then it’s really getting them away from what their default behaviors and skills might be — again, how they’ve habitually created who they are right now and how they act — and more start to get them to think about what do they want? Right? So, the minute I have a client who says with real conviction that they do want to lead, that’s actually the biggest breakthrough. Because they have to own it. Once we understand that, then we can work backwards to say, Alright, so how do you do this in a way that supports who you are, while at the same time being relevant and resonates with those who you need to lead?

NICOLE TORRES: Are there specific examples of things that you tell clients who come to you and they say, I want to lead, and you know, you want to send them out and have them practice different styles of leadership? What are some things you tell them to do to establish themselves as leaders if they don’t have, you know, the title that denotes certain responsibility, but they want to start embodying a leader? What do you tell them to do?

AMY SU: I think Nicole, the word “embodiment” is really important. We could tell somebody all we want that we’re a leader, we’re a leader, let me tell you, I’m a leader — and it’s really about the felt experience of the other person. So, for example, you might be somebody who historically asked a lot of questions or asked for advice from others. And so, for example, Nicole, maybe in the past I would say to you, Hey Nicole, how do you think I should price this proposal? And instead, I think in a more leader stance, I might come to you now with what I call the “comment and the question,” where I’m sharing with you my business judgment first and then asking a question. So instead, I might say, Nicole, I’m thinking we should price this proposal this way. I think it, you know, inherently keeps the value of our firm and at the same time mitigates risks on renewals. But I really value your perspective. Do you think I’m missing anything here? So there’s a big difference in when our stance is historically, wow, I don’t have the answers, so I’m going to go ask others and follow, versus I’m a leader, I’m going to share with you my judgment, but then hold openness to other perspectives.

NICOLE TORRES: I love that.

MURIEL WILKINS: And then if I can add to that, I think if a client is working in a specific organization that has their own model of what it looks like to be an effective leader in that organization, at a very practical level, I ask them, Do you even know what it means to be an effective leader in this organization? If the answer is no, then they have to go on a little field trip to HR and ask, right, what does the leadership model look like here? Is there one? And usually it’s made up of, you know, eight to 12 skills, and we start working on those skills.

AMY GALLO: We probably have people who are listening and saying, I’ve nailed the internal, I know I want to be a leader, I’ve looked at the competencies, I’ve started doing, you know, exhibiting the behavior, but people around me still don’t see me as a leader. Do you have any advice for women in that situation, where they feel like they’re pushing to be a leader, but yet they’re not getting the response they want?

AMY SU: The word you use, they’re “pushing” really says a lot. I think when we are coming from a place of trying to prove ourself, people can smell that and there’s actually a tremendous amount of insecurity that sits underneath of that. So, there’s a distinction for me between, I really own my expertise and I understand the business knowledge and skills and experience that I bring to the table. I think that feels very different than when you come to the table with, I need to prove that I’m an expert and I hope they see me as an expert. Somehow, folks can smell the difference. And so, I think we need to really push ourselves to say, Is the pressure to prove we’re being an expert actually getting in the way?

MURIEL WILKINS: And I think it’s important to also bring people along, right? Many times, individuals are not pushing back on you trying to grow your leadership wings, spread your wings, if you will. It’s that they’re not used to it. They’re used to operating with you and experiencing you in the way that you have been. I think that it’s actually really helpful to have a couple of advocates, champions, sponsors who are excited for you to spread your wings, and who you rely on in terms of getting advice and counsel and mentoring, however you want to call it, as you’re going through this passage, that way they are coming along with you. And I think for women in particular, depending on where they are in their career, this is especially important. If you have had a male boss or mentor. I’ve seen many women get caught up in a bit of this like father daughter relationship in the manager, you know, when their manager or their mentor is a male. And as you’re growing and spreading your wings, you know, is that really the dynamic that you want to have, whether it’s conscious or unconscious. So bringing people along, being even very explicit that this is what you want, that you want to grow as a leader, that you see yourself in a leadership role, that this is your intent as you go into that next position, how can they best support you in doing that, and asking for their support can be really healthy in helping move through that transition.

AMY GALLO: Yeah. I mean, I’ve seen that dynamic play out between two women, where the boss wants to protect the person who’s rising up —

AMY SU: Yes.

MURIEL WILKINS: Right.

AMY GALLO: And so they, you know, don’t give them too much work to do or they, you know, go to the meeting instead of them because they have too much on their plate or, and I think there is something to be said for saying to your mentor, sponsor, manager, I got this. Right? This is what I want. I want to move forward. Yes, it’s a lot. But I got it.

AMY SU: And also, I think Amy, to remind your boss or sponsor or mentor how that growth in you actually benefits them because you’re now able to take more off their plate.

AMY GALLO: Right, right.

NICOLE TORRES: Yeah. But how hard is it to get, you know, a manager or someone who’s mentoring you, someone who’s mentoring you and trying to give you advice for how to grow and be a better employee — how do you get them to stop thinking of you as someone who needs a lot of direction and guidance? How do you get them to start seeing you as someone who can give direction to others?

MURIEL WILKINS: I think if there’s been a trusting relationship up until now, you acknowledge and show gratitude for the support that that person has given you, and you make the request that they let you try it out on your own. Right? So, it’s a both. You don’t want to shun them because they’re supportive and that’s an asset. And you don’t want to let go of that asset. So, I don’t think it’s so much demonstrating, I think it’s actually having that explicit conversation with that individual.

AMY GALLO: That’s making me think Muriel too, that you also have to be specific because if you say to your manager, mentor, sponsor, I want to be seen as a leader, that could mean a zillion different things.

MURIEL WILKINS: Yes.

AMY SU: Absolutely.

AMY GALLO: Right, so you need to say, I want to be able to make the decision on X. I want to be someone who people seek out for expertise on Y, right. I want to, you know, people to value my opinion when I speak up at a meeting, I think be more specific and as you say Muriel, making a request of here’s how you can help me do that —

AMY GALLO: — is really powerful.

MURIEL: Right. And you can also ask in a specific way, right? Seek counsel and say, Manager, I really want to work on my ability to be seen as a leader, you know, six months from now, what would be some of the hallmarks that you’d want to see that you’d expect from me if that’s my goal?

AMY GALLO: Right. You’re also making me think of, when you mentioned the trip to HR earlier about figuring out what the competencies are, I also have seen people and have done myself a lot of observing of other people. And I noticed once that someone, I, that many people thought of as a leader, often said at the end of the meeting, let me know if you want me to weigh in on that. And I was like, Oh, I should use that. That’s a good line because it demonstrates, I have expertise, I’m willing to help if you want my opinion. But it’s not necessarily, you know, if it’s helpful, I will weigh in. And I thought that was like such a nice way to establish this person who had expertise, this was someone people typically sought their opinion from, and it sort of said, I’m a leader without having to be like, I’m in charge, right.

NICOLE TORRES: Yeah.

AMY SU: And I think, Amy, you’re mentioning something here that does distinguish a leader, where you begin to see at more senior levels, people are just more comfortable batting ideas around with each other in a much more peer-to-peer stance. And oftentimes you see somebody who’s still trying to make that turn because they’re still walking in with the over-packaged document, or the over-packaged presentation, and they feel like they can only speak when it’s about their area. And I think part of being seen as a leader is the willingness to bring your judgment, bring your acumen, bat things around in a much more informal way.

AMY GALLO: Yeah. Well and I know you both, you talk about in your book Own the Room about also, you know, trying to make connections between — so as you get a broader view of the organization you’re trying to make connections between departments or units or different initiatives. So sometimes it’s even about asking questions like how does this impact so-and-so’s project, or how are these two things connected?

AMY SU: And in fact, one of the exercises that I really like to give clients is, as you are stepping into a bigger role or a new role, or you’re thinking of showing up as a stronger leader, what is the percentage of lead and percentage of learn that you need to have as an equation? And so, there’s some part of our work that is, yes, we are leading, we are bringing our skills, we are bringing our decision-making, we are bringing our clarity. But there’s as much a percentage that’s about learning from other parts of the organization and holding a more open stance and actually being planful about that. Who are the other people or functions I could get more information from, what networks might I want to build in this next role? So, it’s important to think about what’s my lead learn in any given situation.

AMY GALLO: I love that.

AMY GALLO: Because not only does that help you transition to doing more leading, but it also, you know, prevents the risk that you just become so focused on leading that you stop learning.

AMY SU: Right.

NICOLE TORRES: And that you think you have all the answers.

AMY GALLO: Yup.

NICOLE TORRES: But does that balance change, you know, over the course of your career? Like something that my friends and I talk about a lot is if you have, you know, kind of come of age in one organization, if you came of age professionally at one company, you know, maybe you started as an intern or you started at, you know, another entry level position and you stayed there long enough and you’ve kind of grown a lot, at least on paper in your role, but also in how you see yourself and how you understand the company. I think a big challenge is still like how do you get people to stop seeing you as that intern, you know, who started like five years ago, and start seeing you as someone who has a pretty good understanding of what the company needs right now and how this organization operates, and can make good decisions to help lead it forward. I’m wondering if you have worked with clients who’ve faced that similar challenge and how you get them to, how you help them overcome it?

AMY SU: It is a challenge I think when you’re homegrown, right? Where you’ve, the organization has seen you at many stages of your development. And so, I think many of the things we’ve already discussed here, number one, you yourself staying updated to who you are and where you’ve been and where you are now is very important. Some of the things that Muriel shared earlier around making sure that you’re keeping others under the tent and being clear on your intentions of growth. And I think really trying to make the advantage of that you have institutional knowledge, you have a loyalty to the organization, you have a history of relationships. And so, as you continue to talk about your career development within that organization, how do you keep bringing those strengths and those benefits to bear in terms of the next difference you want to make. And I think you have to be careful to keep your eyes out for cues. So if your organization keeps hiring external folks into roles that you want, or if you find that folks continue to treat you as if you are a version of yourself from 10 years ago, those are cues that you want to pay attention to and make sure you’re not stagnating.

NICOLE TORRES: And if you are seeing those cues, if you feel like you are stagnating, what do you do?

AMY SU: I think first you try to have conversations with folks about your career development that you do have a loyalty in history, you do feel like you add value, be clear on the difference you hope to make next. And if still, if nothing happens, then I think all of us, and women especially, need to understand that you have market value outside of your organization, and it might be worth having some conversations outside to see what might be possible.

MURIEL WILKINS: You know, this is where I think — and I don’t want to speak in general terms that all women are like this — but this is just my anecdotal experience in having worked with clients, and as you said, like talking to friends. One of the areas that I don’t think women tend to look out for as much as I see their male counterparts do is when they are assigned a new position or role or project, do they make the assessment of, have they been set up for success? And so to this point around when you’re homegrown, using that actually as an advantage if you are, if you are offered a new role, a new position to really take a step back before accepting and negotiating what you can to make sure that you’re set up for success. And so, what does that mean? Right? In practical terms, for example, if you have a concern that the peers, that the people who used to be your peers are now going to be reporting to you and how’s that gonna play out? Being able to get your boss or your manager to explicitly show your support and have that person help get buy-in from those peers, now direct reports, sort of smoothing the stage before you get on is a way of setting up conditions to help you be more successful. We tend to have this mindset that when we’re offered these roles, you know, the mindset tends to be, Oh my God, we’re so thankful, you know, we’re grateful — Oh, lucky me that I made it this far, versus what I tell my clients, I tell myself, I tell my kids like, No, like you’re lucky to have me. Right? [LAUGHTER] You’re lucky to have me. Right? I’m bringing value. I’m bringing it on. I am excited to be here. You are excited to have me here. You offered me the role, so let’s, you know, let’s kick this thing off and really make sure it works for everybody.

MURIEL WILKINS: And I think that’s a mindset that really helps in terms of being able to get that support and getting people to, getting people to see that you are also excited. You’re not stepping into it hesitantly. You’re stepping into it because basically, you know, it’s almost like I’ve been ready for this, right? The time is now. Let me go for it. And at the same time, as Amy said, use all the social capital and institutional knowledge that you have as a benefit rather than as a crutch.

AMY GALLO: Yeah. I was asked a question recently by a woman of color, a black woman who said that she worked in an organization where she just felt like she was never going to succeed because of her race and her gender. And she said, how do I know when it’s just not going to happen? You know, where I’m not going to be seen as a leader because of these biases versus, you know, I haven’t done enough yet. And I’m curious if you have advice for someone in that situation.

MURIEL WILKINS: I would look at what are the signs that she’s getting. Number one, you know, when she looks ahead of her in terms of the different ranks, what does that look like? Are there any other women or people of color or, you know, bingo, bonus, women of color that are more senior? So, is there a track record there? Secondly, is she getting support even in the role that she’s in? Right? Is she being offered, even if she has to ask, opportunities to be able to get not only visibility, but also more experience and exposure because those are the things that will actually get you ahead? It’s the visibility, the social capital, as well as the knowledge capital, which only comes through experience. So, has she had enough at-bats at that? And are there possibilities for her to get that? If she’s getting knocked down every time she asks, well then that’s another sign. The other is, you know, is she able to attain a sponsor even if it’s an informal sponsor within the organization? So, what I would say is if, you know, all things being equal, if your performance is great, right? Let’s assume the performance is really top notch, and we’re not questioning that. But if you’re able to sort of do everything that you can in these other areas that I spoke of and over some time, it doesn’t seem like it’s leading to anything, then you do need to have, you know, a frank conversation with yourself around whether this place is the place that’s going to set you up for success in terms of the goals that you want. And you also have to ask yourself, you know, what’s your time limit? And everybody’s is different, right? I do think that some people opt out too early. But I also think that you need to set a time range, and sometimes you don’t really know till you go elsewhere.

NICOLE TORRES: So I really like your advice on having explicit conversations with managers or whoever that you know, lets them know that you want to lead and here are all the things that you’re willing to do and here are ways that you could use their support to get better. But I’ve also gotten the advice from people to like just start leading, you know, like just, if you’re given like the task to be in charge of something, then like really assert yourself in leading that. So, schedule meetings, like start sending emails about those things, you know, like really attach yourself as the person who’s responsible for a given project. And I’m wondering if you know, are there certain moments when you should just do that?

AMY SU: Nicole, I think that moment exists every day, and I would encourage people to just do that. Right? When you take any project that you’re working on, I think the push to ourselves to say, Am I thinking about this project simply as a set of activities that I need to execute well, or am I pausing to think about it differently? If I looked at the same business problem, but now I put it on a three-year horizon, or if I thought about the risks involved, or if I thought about the competitive benchmarks. I think there’s so much more that we can each do every day to bring a different level of strategic thinking to the work we do, to the way we communicate. Are we framing up in a more senior level way? So, I think the world of possibilities to demonstrate a higher order of leadership is available to all of us at every moment, whether somebody gives us permission or not.

NICOLE TORRES: Yeah. How do you stay, I know we all have those moments of doubt — we talk about imposter syndrome on this show. But if you are, you know, a leader, if you start seeing yourself as a leader, and you sense that other people doubt you — you know, people think that you have progressed too fast, they kind of still see you as someone who needs training wheels — like how do you just preserve your own sense of confidence so that you know you can lead and some people are just wrong about you.

MURIEL WILKINS: I mean, one of the things that I think is really helpful, particularly when you take on a management role for the first time and you start leading a team really upfront, very, very early on, getting on the table, what people’s hopes and aspirations are in terms of you being the leader, but also understanding what their concerns might be, right? And that ability to listen upfront around the concerns gives you an added advantage in terms of being able to not get the defensive but address them. And also hearing what the expectations are because the more that you can start being in tune to those expectations and potentially meet some of those expectations and get some quick wins — that starts building your credibility. The biggest watch-out is to get defensive. Because if you get defensive, it’s just going to alienate everyone, right? And you don’t want to be in that position.

AMY GALLO: What if you’re not sure if you want to lead? What if you’re on the fence about taking on more responsibility? How do you decide whether this is actually something you want to do?

MURIEL WILKINS: I think you need to, this is where you really need to think through what, you know, what do the next couple of years look like for you? I don’t think it’s a lifetime decision, right? Some people look at it as what do I want to do with my life. And I, for one, I really think just look at things in a three to five-year horizon. Five years seems like a very long time to me. So really focus on the next couple of years rather than this is for the rest of my life. And from that standpoint, one of the best ways that you can do that is to look ahead, right? What could be the possibility five years from now? What are the different scenarios? And which ones sits better in terms of being more aligned with what you want? What you don’t want to have happen is, I don’t want to follow that particular scenario out of fear. And that’s a very different way of opting out. I remember early on in my career, I recognized that I was getting very close to really being in a position to gun for partner at a consulting firm. And while I did believe that I could do it, the question was, did I want to do it? And those are two very different things. So, I think the first question is, do you think you can do it? The second is, do you want to do it? And while I believed that I could do it, I recognized after a lot of just my own self-searching and talking to others and looking at those who are ahead of me, even those that I greatly admired, that that was not what I wanted. And the reason I didn’t want it is that that wasn’t the way that I wanted to make an impact. Right? And so, having the ability to sit back and think about those two questions — do I believe I can do it, and do I want it — are very critical.

AMY SU: And I think there’s, you know, people out there similarly who, in the question of do I want to do it, end up being guided by a should, that career success looks like being a leader and having this many direct reports and as long as that universe keeps growing, then somehow I’m successful. So, I think Muriel’s point around do I want to do it? Does this make sense for this next phase of my life? I had a colleague recently who went from leading a team of 50 people, an organization of 50, and she and I talked about how at this stage of her life, as she looked at the next four years, both of her kids are in high school, and she realized that she went to her boss and said, Over the next four years I want to be home more, I’m finding that I miss some of the work I got to do day-to-day because now I’m really managing other people. So, she’s moved back to an individual contributor role. And that’s what works for her at this time. So, is she any less leaderly? No, I think this was just a woman who was very in touch with what this next phase of life meant to her and what was the work that was going to feed her as well as feed her family.

AMY GALLO: I like that because I think we often have this idea that leadership is just a, you know, straight incline, and you just acquire more things to — more initiatives, more people, and that’s the only way to grow. And I love that she’s not any less a leader, she’s just stepping back from those particular responsibilities.

NICOLE TORRES: Amy, Muriel, thank you so much for joining us. This has been super helpful.

AMY SU: Thanks so much for having us.

MURIEL WILKINS: Thank you. This was great. Thanks for having us.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Well what does it mean to be seen as a leader to you?

NICOLE TORRES: I think it’s a term that we throw out there. Like some people are like leaders, like I can think of a handful of people who are like so commonly referred to as leaders, and other people who I’ve never heard called leaders — even though the actual work they do, like there’s a lot of managing and leading.

AMY BERNSTEIN: I don’t think you’re talking just about yourself —

NICOLE TORRES: Yeah, yeah.

AMY BERNSTEIN: — I think you’re talking more universally, but I think you might be surprised at how many people in roles of authority view the people you’re talking about, who don’t have the formal authority, as leaders.

AMY BERNSTEIN: And that’s why they keep going back to them to take on new initiatives. That’s being seen as a leader by leaders. Right?

NICOLE TORRES: Right.

AMY GALLO: In my experience, I’ve either been doing it before people have formally accepted it, and I’m just sort of going for it, hoping they’ll catch up, or I notice way too late and I’m like, Oh, this was an opportunity where I should have been more leaderly and I thought of myself as a follower.

AMY BERNSTEIN: See I notice it in its absence, when someone whom I expect to manage — and we don’t need to get into the difference between management and leadership — but someone whom I expected to lead a project failed to take ownership. And that shows up as asking for guidance on every single decision that I would have trusted her to make.

AMY GALLO: Or sitting back — I’ve done this myself of just sort of sitting back and waiting for the group to move things forward, and rather than taking the lead, you know, and being in control and determining this is the next step, this is what we’re doing.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Oh that’s so, yeah, that’s really smart because the other way I’ve seen it show up is someone who’s been put in charge of a project and thinks that the right way to make decisions is to take a poll of the room rather than to make the decision. You put someone in charge of a project generally because you trust her judgment. Right?

AMY BERNSTEIN: And you trust her to get all of the information and insight she needs to make the best decision.

AMY GALLO: Yeah.

NICOLE TORRES: And speaking of like decision-making and how confident people are in your decisions, the things I think about that would, you know, assure me that people see me as a leader are people listening to my opinions and respecting the decisions I’m making, or is there like a lot of waffling? Like are my judgments not trusted? Is there a lot of questioning over what I’m trying to offer?

AMY BERNSTEIN: And I think that gets to the heart of why it’s difficult for women often to assume leadership roles because it’s difficult for us to be heard sometimes.

AMY GALLO: Right. Well, and also, I mean we know from lots of studies that when we think of a leader, we think of a man. And so, there’s sort of this extra hurdle for women trying to make this transition to do all of the things we’re talking about and also challenge what we think of when we think of leadership.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Without coming across as a cold witch.

NICOLE TORRES: Right. Yep.

AMY GALLO: Yep. This isn’t exactly leadership, but when, after I wrote the book about conflict, I was starting to talk to people about doing talks about the book and I just didn’t see myself as an expert. And I think a lot of leadership is about being, you know, having expertise, being someone people look to for insights or judgment, as you were saying, Amy B. And I actually had a trick where I wrote on a Post-it Note “I am an expert,” and just put it above my computer. And anytime I was going to have a call where I needed to remember that I’m in charge — and I think it could work, right? Write a little Post-It: “I am a leader.” You don’t have to put it right on your desk, but I think that sort of gentle mantra reminder is super helpful.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Well, waiting for someone else to give you permission —

AMY BERNSTEIN: — you know, isn’t going to get you where you want to go. Right?

AMY GALLO: Yes.

NICOLE TORRES: Yep.

AMY GALLO: Well and you have to embrace it. And I actually remember the day where I took the Post-It and threw it away because I was like, I don’t need this anymore.

AMY BERNSTEIN: I have arrived.

NICOLE TORRES: It’s in here.

AMY GALLO: Yeah. Like, I believe it. I don’t —

AMY BERNSTEIN: I’m off the train, I’m in the station.

AMY GALLO: Right. I remember during my consulting days I actually would get bored in client meetings, and one of the ways to trick myself into being more engaged was to act as if I was in charge and what would I say right now?

AMY BERNSTEIN: I want to try that!

AMY GALLO: And like sort of play out, what would I say now? How would I direct this? What would I do? And I think it really changed the way I was viewed because my insights were that much more insightful, or that much more helpful. And I felt like I was in a driving role as opposed to a contributing role.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Yeah. Because you were getting out ahead of it.

AMY BERNSTEIN: You were really, you were trying to steer the car.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Instead of just riding in the backseat.

NICOLE TORRES: But did you get any pushback for that? Like was that seen by people as you were trying to hijack things that were owned by other people?

AMY BERNSTEIN: No, not really. I mean, I think the — partly I was doing in a very emotionally intelligent way of not just like raising my hand every two minutes, we should do this, we should do this. I think I was gauging when was appropriate, watching for reaction. Sometimes it would be that the partner on the project afterwards, I’d just say in the, you know, taxi ride back to our office. I’d be like, you know what I thought of during that meeting was this, this, and this. Sometimes it wasn’t even saying it out loud in the moment, it was just thinking about what would I have done. And it was literally a trick to get me to stop being bored, but it really did set me up to be much more of a leader. And I got a promotion soon after. I think that —

AMY BERNSTEIN: But you also weren’t worrying about what people thought because you were trying not to be arrogant and you were focusing on what you could control, which was the attitude that you brought to it and your openness.

AMY GALLO: Well, and it didn’t, it also helped that I didn’t, I wasn’t trying to prove myself. I was trying to do something totally different, and in the process, I happened to prove myself.

AMY BERNSTEIN: But I think that sometimes people are reticent, and women are often reticent because they’re afraid of appearing too pushy.

AMY BERNSTEIN: And in that way they’re holding themselves back. And most of the time when we fail to emerge as leaders, I think it’s because we tap the brakes too much on ourselves.

NICOLE TORRES: But sometimes like that fear of being perceived as pushy, like that’s a legitimate fear. Like if you are pushing for things, you can be seen as being too aggressive and not getting along with others.

AMY BERNSTEIN: But if you’re pushing for things for the right reasons, then who cares?

AMY GALLO: Well, I think to your point, Nicole, I think what we understand from the research is that women are penalized when they seem to be pushing on behalf of themselves. When they push on behalf of the collective — so if you’re trying to further the initiative, help your team, you know, realize the organization’s mission — we tend to allow women to drive a little bit more. And I mean, personally for me, I feel more engaged when I’m doing that, when it’s on behalf of a group, not just myself.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Oh, it’s so much, it’s so much easier to advocate for the group or the project.

AMY GALLO: And wouldn’t we all be better off if everyone, not just women, advocated on behalf of the collective rather than themselves?

AMY BERNSTEIN: Oh my god. What would we do?

AMY GALLO: But Nicole, you’re on this cusp, you’re going through, we talked about with Muriel and Amy that it was sort of this awkward growing pains. Like how are you feeling about it right now?

NICOLE TORRES: Yeah. I’ve been thinking a lot about this. It’s, I think it’s true — this is an awkward growing phase that is part like me having to deal with myself and make sure that I’m not the one holding myself back in terms of seeing myself as a leader and having the confidence to lead, but at the same time like I was really curious in that interview with them, like what about all of the external stuff? Like even if I see myself as a leader and I know I’m in a leadership role — other people around me and their perceptions and how they regard me like that really matters in my ability to be a leader and also see myself as a leader. One of my experiences of, you know, realizing that that external side was really important was I was leading a project, or I thought I was leading a project, and in a meeting, when we were talking about ideas, like someone, you know, I said something and someone didn’t like my idea and they just told me I was uptight.

AMY BERNSTEIN: What?

AMY GALLO: Oh my gosh.

NICOLE TORRES: Like in front of the whole room. Like I was the uptight one, even though I was advocating an idea for this, like larger project.

AMY BERNSTEIN: OK, but you know that that was obnoxious.

NICOLE TORRES: Oh, totally, totally. But in my mind, I was like, I thought I was leading this, and I had, I thought that that was clear. But then I realized like because that statement was made, like maybe that is not so clear.

AMY BERNSTEIN: So, before this meeting, was the rest of the team informed that you would be leading?

NICOLE TORRES: Not really.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Yeah.

AMY GALLO: But I think that happens a lot.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Yeah, but see that’s not good.

AMY GALLO: No, I mean it’s not, but it happens a lot. And I think there’s many times we have to lead through that ambiguity to respond to hopefully less vicious forms of attack. Right? And we can’t let that comment, that type of comment stop us from leading.

AMY GALLO: Because you just, you, yeah. I mean, I totally, that stinks, basically. That’s what I want to say.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Yeah, but here’s the thing. I mean, when someone does something like that, you just have to reflect it. They’re in a pretty bad place, you know, to launch that rocket at you.

NICOLE TORRES: There are only some things you can control.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Exactly.

AMY GALLO: Exactly. So, what should have Nicole said in that moment to be seen as a leader? When someone says something like that? Like what’s a, what’s the leaderly thing to do when someone —

AMY BERNSTEIN: That’s such a good question. What is the… Well, first of all, I don’t think, I think engaging with it is a mistake.

NICOLE TORRES: Just get out!

AMY GALLO: Yeah, you can leave now.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Or what you can do is try to disarm them with humor.

AMY BERNSTEIN: You know, just make it clear that the comment was noted, but more important, the attitude was noted.

AMY GALLO: Yeah. Are you criticizing me or are you criticizing my idea? Because I thought we were talking about ideas here.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Yeah. Or you know, switching to a more constructive line of conversation — you know, something like that.

AMY BERNSTEIN: There’s a way to call them out without calling them out. I would, I don’t know. I sort of — of course, it’s so easy to say when I had absolutely nothing to do with the situation, but you know, talking to that person afterwards and saying, what was that?

AMY BERNSTEIN: If you’re comfortable enough with that person to say it. I mean —

NICOLE TORRES: Yeah. I mean something I wish I did was like have just a conversation afterwards to say that really wasn’t cool, and I don’t know if you meant it like that, but like that isn’t cool and it doesn’t sound good to me and to other people who hear that.

NICOLE TORRES: Instead of like go home and tell my boyfriend about it and complain and tell all my friends, could you believe this happened? And now talking about it on this podcast! [LAUGHTER] I think there are ways I could have handled it.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Well, in another couple of decades you’ll have worked it out.

NICOLE TORRES: Yeah, totally.

AMY GALLO: Because clearly we have.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Yeah, right. I mean I can remember all the slights I felt when I was, you know, when I got promoted and someone came up and said, Well, why do you think you got promoted? I mean that was like 30 years ago.

AMY GALLO: Yeah, I mean we do, those things stick with us.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Yeah. Yeah. That Facebook friend request is still sitting in my inbox. [LAUGHTER]

AMY GALLO: You don’t hold a grudge.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Not at all. [LAUGHTER]

AMY GALLO: You see me as a leader when I want to be seen as a leader or I will not be your Facebook friend.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Yeah. Who’s promoted now, bitch? [LAUGHTER]

NICOLE TORRES: Oh, this does, we didn’t, hey, we didn’t talk about this, but now you’re making me think of it. What if you are like a senior leader, whatever, mid-level leader and you, there are other leaders in the company too, and you all kind of have to work together? Like who, who wins out? What if there’s a conflict there? Have you ever been in that situation?

AMY BERNSTEIN: But you don’t approach it as a conflict situation. I mean, when I’ve been in this situation, one of the things we talk about, or I will bring it up is, Alright, so who’s doing what here? You have to, you know, you have to have that conversation at the beginning of a project. It’s the roles and responsibilities. Because when you don’t, when those aren’t clear, you’re not going to get anything done. And you know, I’m thinking about how to handle the next meeting where it’s not clear that you’re the leader. Maybe you open it up by saying, So the boss, Bob, has asked me to organize this team to do X, Y, and Z. And here’s the brief he gave me. So, let’s talk about how we’re going to get this done together. You know? And make it clear that you’re assuming leadership because the responsibility is yours.

AMY GALLO: I think establishing upfront, either as explicitly as that or just taking charge of the meeting. So, you know, starting by saying, OK, we’re here. Our goal is to do this. Everyone on the same page about that? Great. I have some ideas. I’d love to hear some ideas from the group. You know, just sort of taking control of that moment and being the facilitator.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Particularly if you’ve prepared. I think that’s a great approach. Because so much of leadership in the workplace and you know, 2019, 2020, is about leading through influence without formal authority.

AMY BERNSTEIN: We’re all doing it. Right? And so, you have to be able to show that, you know, you’re the one who’s really thought through this project and how it’s going to run its course.

NICOLE TORRES: I will say the most common advice that I keep getting and talking about this is like, don’t ask for permission. Just if you want —

AMY BERNSTEIN: Oh my god. Don’t.

NICOLE TORRES: If you see yourself as a leader and you want to be leading something, then you own that and take charge of it and start leading. And someone gave me, I was talking to a coworker, and she gave me really good advice. Because I was kind of saying, you know like, I’ve tried that and it just didn’t work, I can’t just take control of something. She was like, Why not? And I said, you know, maybe I don’t have certain things, certain skills that leaders need to have. Like there are parts of these projects that I don’t really like doing. I don’t feel super organized. I don’t like doing all of the organizing of people. And she was like, Leaders don’t have to do that all the time. Like your leadership style maybe means you get someone else to do all of that stuff. That blew my mind.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Yeah, well, first of all, delegate. But secondly, I mean, no one does it all well. You have to recognize what you do well, and you know, the stuff you hate or that you don’t do well — and usually those are the same things. I hate process. I am so glad that my closest colleague on the magazine goes to process, you know, immediately and is really, really good at thinking it through.

AMY GALLO: Yeah. And I think that’s an important point is that being a leader doesn’t mean you have all of the skills already.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Right.

AMY GALLO: And that you like doing it all, right? Like it’s OK to be ambivalent about lots of parts of this.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Well, I mean, you know, one of the things about leadership is there are a lot of tough conversations and there’s a lot of — you’re not going to make everyone happy. You’re not going to be a good leader if all you want to do is make everyone happy.

AMY GALLO: Well that, OK, we didn’t talk about that with Muriel and Amy, but that is a huge piece of it, is that being a leader is about sometimes making people mad, disappointing them, and being OK.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Yes. I grappled with that the first time I really took a formal leadership role, and I had to go from, you know, wanting to be liked by everyone to figuring out how I could get myself past that. Because a lot of what I was promoted to do was to institute change. And that makes people really, really unhappy.

AMY GALLO: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, and to make all the decisions that we’re talking about and to be, you have to make tough calls.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Oh yeah.

AMY GALLO: Right? And you have to, you have to ask people to do things they don’t want to do. You have to tell people, No. You have to, you know, move things from one part of the organization to another. So, there’s losers and you know, you can’t be so focused on being liked. I actually think that’s a huge transition point.

AMY BERNSTEIN: It’s huge. And also, you have to sort of figure out how you want to show up. This is what you were getting at before. You have to think about what really matters to you. And, you know, maybe the way to do it is to figure out what you admire in leaders you admire. I mean, what is it about the people whose leadership you really look up to that makes you look up to them? And that’s a conversation you have to have with yourself. It takes some thought and it takes some analysis. And then it takes some commitment. I mean, sometimes you have to do things that make you super uncomfortable, but you do them because you know it’s the right thing to do.

NICOLE TORRES: But I guess, what advice do you have then when you are, when you’re doing that and like you get pushback from people? Like how do you not waver in your confidence when you have to make the hard calls? Like if people are just doubting you and your judgments on those calls?

AMY BERNSTEIN: So, remember that because you’re leading a project, it doesn’t mean you have to make all the decisions on your own. You’re seeking input from a lot of different people. So, you want to have confidence in your decision. There are a lot of decisions you make in the role where, you know, it could have gone one way or the other. And I think transparency helps a lot. We could’ve gone this way, but I think we need to go this way. Here’s why I think we need to go this way. I recognize what makes the other way preferable, but this way you know, is going to handle more of what we need to handle. Something like that. Just owning that this was on the bubble. Because no decision is often way worse than the suboptimal decision.

AMY GALLO: And if people are saying that won’t work, you’re making the wrong decision, say, Why? What are the risks? OK. How do we mitigate those risks? What would have to be true for this to be successful?

AMY BERNSTEIN: Yeah. And turning the objections into a more constructive conversation. I think you’re so right, Amy.

AMY GALLO: Yeah. Because sometimes those objections are genuine and they’re pointing out true risks that — great. That’s helpful to think those through, do what you can to avoid them. And sometimes they’re questioning because they are trying to undermine you. And when they’re trying to undermine you, focusing on the content is, I find the best way to go around that.

AMY BERNSTEIN: The content and the purpose. You’re so right about that.

NICOLE TORRES: I’m going to listen to this next time I go into a meeting.

AMY GALLO: Well, and I think that you’re in that spot where you’re going to have your confidence questioned. And I think in some ways it’s just a matter of sticking to the course, knowing you’re going to get pushback, knowing people aren’t always going to say, Yep, here’s this leader opportunity, go ahead and make the most of it. You’re going to have to take it.

AMY GALLO: And it’s not always going to be great.

AMY BERNSTEIN: But the other thing is that you want to be seen as — I’ll guess, fair and thoughtful, and you know, committed to getting the job done well and committed to the team. You know, it’s, those things will shine a lot brighter than making sure that Mary likes you, right?

AMY GALLO: Well, and that’s a good point too, is that as you’re moving into this role, it’s not a bad idea to write down what kind of leader do you want to be, what are the values? Because you can return to that.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Yeah. That’s on the next Post-It Note. [LAUGHTER] You threw out “You are a lead” — or “You are an expert,” right?

AMY GALLO: Right. Now it’s fairness, equity, thoughtfulness — right.

AMY BERNSTEIN: Whatever you want to be the points of your compass. Those might be the things you write down.

NICOLE TORRES: Yeah. I like that exercise. I feel like this turned into a career coaching session. [LAUGHTER]

AMY GALLO: Nicole’s on a couch. You can’t see it, but — [LAUGHTER]

NICOLE TORRES: With my guides!

AMY BERNSTEIN: With snacks.

AMY GALLO: With snacks. Always. Always with snacks.

HANNAH BATES: You just heard Amy Su and Muriel Wilkins, founders of the executive coaching firm Paravis Partners in conversation with Amy Bernstein, Amy Gallo, and Nicole Torres on Women at Work .

We’ll be back next Wednesday with another hand-picked conversation about leadership from Harvard Business Review. If you found this episode helpful, share it with your friends and colleagues, and follow our show on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts. While you’re there, be sure to leave us a review.

When you’re ready for more podcasts, articles, case studies, books, and videos with the world’s top business and management experts, you’ll find it all at HBR.org.

This episode was produced by Amanda Kersey, Anne Saini, and me, Hannah Bates. Ian Fox is our editor. Music by Coma Media. Special thanks to Adam Buchholz, Rob Eckhardt, Maureen Hoch, Erica Truxler, Ramsey Khabbaz, Nicole Smith, Anne Bartholomew, and you – our listener.

See you next week.

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Top 12 Leadership Competencies Explained: Get Ready to Lead

In his iconic book, Focus, Daniel Goleman, the world-renowned psychologist speaks of a leader as having three kinds of areas to master. These are the inner focus, the outer focus, and the other focus. Excellent leadership, according to Goleman, has to have a balance between these three domains. As an example, a leader without an inner focus is unlikely to see the outer world in the correct light.

Leadership, ultimately, boils down to earmarking/customizing the competencies needed in each of these focuses. There are, of course, common competencies in these that have stood the test of time. In this blog, we take you through the key leadership competencies that encompass the best of human traits.

What are leadership competencies?

Leadership competencies are the set of skills and behaviors that contribute to task efficiency and better performance in a group setting. Leadership, as a people management skill, is a combination of cognitive, interpersonal, business, and strategic components. It includes attributes, such as adaptability, values, task management, understanding, etc, that help leaders to be more effective in their roles. They strive to

Variation in the skill set describes and determines different leadership styles. However, there are certain non-negotiable leadership competencies that are indispensable for businesses. For example, good leaders are expected to always take the blame and share the credit for team achievement. An illustration of this is seen several times in the Tom Hanks' starrer Forrest Gump. If you too intend to make a positive difference, check these top 20 coaching and mentoring templates .

Even though there is no standard way to classify and define leadership competencies, from a business perspective, they are generally divided into five broad categories. These are:

• Managing Self: There's no denying that managing oneself is one of the most important leadership skills. After all, if you can't manage your own time, energy, and resources effectively, how can you expect to lead others effectively? It includes qualities such as honesty, resilience, integrity, problem solving, etc. While some people are adept at managing themselves, others struggle with it. Regardless, it is an essential leadership attribute.
• Managing projects: Project management is a critical leadership skill. The ability to plan, organize, and execute projects within deadline can mean the difference between success and failure. It includes qualities like team building, accountability, credibility, negotiation, etc. An effective project manager understands how to set goals, develop timelines, and allocate resources. They also know how to communicate with stakeholders, keep track of progress, and troubleshoot problems. To help you streamline these components and boost productivity, here are some popular PPT Templates .
• Managing people: One of the most important skills in any leader's toolkit is the ability to manage people in a way that maximizes their potential. After all, leadership is primarily about setting a direction and then mobilizing people to achieve common goals. But what does it take to be a good manager? There are many different styles of management, and the best approach depends on the specific situation. However, some basic traits that a good leader possesses include conflict management , appreciation of diversity, etc. And if you're wondering about ways to motivate and inspire your peers, here's an informative guide you shouldn't miss!
• Managing programs: In today's business world, the ability to manage programs is essential for success. A program manager is responsible for coordinating and overseeing the elements of a program, including its budget, schedule, and scope. Important attributes in this category are technology management, creativity, innovation, financial acumen, etc.
• Leading organizations: Great leaders inspire others to achieve more than they thought possible. They are visionaries who always see the good in people and organizations (a la Pollyanna), and they work tirelessly to make things better. For this, they require qualities such as external awareness, foresightedness, strategic thinking, etc. This helps them leave an everlasting impression by making their way to leaderboard .

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Now that we’ve understood the critical role of leadership competencies in leading a successful business, let’s explore SlideTeam’s extensive collection of predesigned, highly engaging, and inspirational leadership ppt  Templates to bring out the leader in you!

Template 1: Leadership core competencies PPT Template

Incorporate this content-ready PPT Slide to discuss the core leadership competencies. From motivation to decision-making to self-esteem, this innovative design will provide you an overview of the qualities of a leader in an effective and engaging manner. Download now!

Template 2: Leadership competencies model in business PPT Slide

Use this predesigned PPT Template to guide the way for your company’s future leaders. Help them understand the unique traits of being capable of holding a significant position in an organization and leading it. The interactive design will capture the attention of your audience. Grab it right away!

Template 3: Leadership competencies framework PPT Template

Having a comprehensive leadership competencies framework is crucial for the success of an organization. Use this PPT Design to illustrate and elucidate the important competencies for leadership positions. It will help your employees gain a better understanding of the skills and harness them to advance at both personal and organizational levels. Get it immediately!

Template 4: Process of business leadership competencies PPT Diagram

Take your audience through the process of developing leadership skills with this well-designed, informative PPT Layout. It will help them probe into their current skill proficiency and what qualities they need to inculcate in order to succeed. Pick this template now!

Template 5: Leadership competencies model PPT Sample

Incorporate this informative PPT Slide to discuss the leadership competencies model. You can elaborate on desirable qualities and traits of a leader to facilitate growth and progress. These attributes vary according to the organizational requirement and expectations. Get it today!

Template 6: Leadership competencies assessment matrix PPT Slide

Knowing and practicing leadership qualities are two very different things yet deeply intertwined elements. The right balance between the two will help a person become a successful leader. This assessment PPT Sample can be used at both, individual and organizational level. The given design contains the leadership capability spectrum that provides a detailed analysis of the skills and attributes, thereby helping in making an informed decision. Companies are using this to find the right candidate or potential leader. Download now!

Template 7: Areas of successful leadership PowerPoint Design

Successful leadership is more than the sum of individual competencies. Deploy this customizable PPT Design to illustrate the process of attributes working together to ensure competent leadership. It highlights the value of each quality being interconnected to the other to facilitate effective and desired functioning.

Template 8: Business management and leadership competencies PPT Slide

Elucidate business management and leadership competencies with the help of this predesigned sample. It contains all the important traits along with a brief description. You can provide your audience with a comprehensive idea of what skills they need to work on for better leadership and related opportunities. Get it right now!

Template 9: Attributes leadership pyramid model sample PPT

The given leadership pyramid model PPT Infographic will allow you to discern qualities that make up a successful leader. You can use this ready-made template to discuss the levels of qualities, varying from essential to desirable. You can further elucidate that base, explain, and enlist all the essential leadership attributes, whereas progressing towards the higher level of the hierarchy contains limited, yet desirable skills.

Template 10: Competency leadership development roadmap PPT Infographic

Internalizing leadership qualities is not easy! It takes plenty of effort and will. This professionally designed sample will help you in having a clear idea of how to proceed with the process. You can get an overview for yourself and for your audience so they can understand what is expected from them and how to achieve it. It will facilitate better understanding and coordination in efforts, thereby providing desired outcome and success. Download now!

Template  11: Leadership competencies in business PPT Layout

There are a variety of skills that are essential for effective leadership in business. You can discuss each characteristic or trait in detail using our content-ready PPT Slide. It illustrates four major categories of leadership competencies that collectively impact the business. It can also be beneficial for organizations when looking for the right candidate for a significant position. Grab it now!

Template  12: Leadership competencies framework PPT Sample

By clearly formulating the skills and behaviors that are valued in leaders, a framework provides a roadmap for developing future leaders. You can use this design for evaluating current leaders, ensuring that they are aligned with the organization's values and goals. Furthermore, the given framework slide can be used to identify gaps in an individual's skill set, providing a clear path for development. Ultimately, a well-designed leadership competencies framework is an essential tool for building a strong leadership team and ensuring organizational success. Get it immediately!

Being a leader is not as easy as it seems. It requires effort, dedication, and the ability to handle the responsibility. Moreover, leadership is the culmination of identified and unidentified factors. Of course, there is no single formula for success when it comes to leadership. Different leaders have different styles and methods. But the qualities mentioned in this guide can be a good starting point for anyone who wants to develop their leadership skills. If you're looking to make a difference in the world, start by developing your own leadership skills. It may just be the best decision you ever make.

Leadership Competencies FAQs

What are core leadership skills?

There are many skills that are essential for effective leadership, but some are more important than others. One of the most essential skills is the ability to develop a clear vision and then communicate that vision to others. A leader must be able to articulate what they want to achieve and inspire others to work towards that goal. Another crucial skill is the ability to build relationships and bring people together. A leader must be self-aware, courageous, confident, and influential. These are just a few of the core leadership skills that are necessary for success.

What is a leadership competency model?

A leadership competency model is a framework that outlines the specific skills and attributes that are necessary for effective leadership. While there are many different competency models in existence, they all share a common goal: to identify the key characteristics that distinguish successful leaders from those who are less effective. The specific competencies included in a given model will vary depending on the organization or context, but the most common attributes are communication, problem-solving, decision-making, emotional intelligence, and team-building. By clearly defining what is required for success, a competency model can serve as an invaluable tool for both individuals and organizations alike.

Why is competence important to leadership?

A leader is someone who is able to guide and motivate others towards a common goal. Competence implies a certain level of skill and knowledge. Competence enables a leader to motivate, inspire and solve problems. It helps them to showcase an exemplary behavior that sets a mark for others to follow. The ability to be competent facilities the will for life-long learning and innovation, thereby promoting growth. Eventually, competence sets the foundation for strong leadership.

How do you develop leadership competencies?

Many people view leadership as a quality that some people are born with, while others are not. However, there is increasing evidence that leadership is a skill that can be developed through training and experience. There are many different ways to develop leadership competencies, but some common approaches include corporate mentoring , coaching, and structured learning experiences. Formal leadership development programs often include a mix of classroom instruction and experiential learning, such as simulations and role-playing exercises. In addition, many organizations provide opportunities for employees to take on leadership roles in special projects or committees. With relevant experiences and opportunities, individuals can develop the skills and knowledge needed to become effective leaders.

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10 Free Presentation Templates for Executives

In a world driven by cut-throat competition and increasing globalization, businesses can gain traction and success at the global level through partnerships, joint ventures, and alliances. And in all these collaborations, executives play an important role in representing their company’s strengths and potential. So, they must have good communication and presentation skills. These skills are crucial to keeping internal employees and stakeholders aligned and motivated to achieve organizational goals. A well-designed template can elevate your presentation prowess and amplify your impact.

To help business executives make their presentations mesmerizing and convincing, we have compiled a list of professionally designed, 100% customizable, multipurpose templates in this article. You can use them for presentations for various occasions, like team, client, board, and investor meetings. So, get these templates now and unlock visual excellence in your next slideshows!

1. Solar Power Project Proposal Presentation

Get this template to showcase the scope, purpose, and timeline of your solar power project to clients, investors, and stakeholders in a visually interesting manner. Featuring a vibrant color scheme and visuals of solar panels, this deck can be incorporated into your presentations to showcase a brief introduction of your company and team and the project’s technical details and environmental impact. In addition, you can present competitor analysis and financial projects to demonstrate the growth potential of your project. Demonstrate how your project will contribute to environmental sustainability, reducing carbon emissions and electricity bills.

2. Business Plan

This template is useful for executives of both startups and established companies to visualize the company’s goals and a roadmap and timeframe for achieving them. You can leverage this deck in presentations for investor pitches, team meetings, and annual general meetings. Use this beautiful set of slides to depict your plan to expand the company’s international footprint, roll out a new product in a specific market, address the pain points of a particular customer group through your product/service, etc. The well-chosen color theme in slides instantly captures the audience’s attention and helps them process the presented information faster. 

3. Roadmap  

This versatile and multipurpose template will add context and visual appeal to presentations on goal setting and achievement, project management, strategic planning, and more. The slides feature visuals of zigzag roads/arrows and milestone icons and can be used to visualize various project tasks and their respective deadline, the product launch plan, milestones in risk management, etc. You can also showcase key activities and milestones of the change management process, the plan to develop and implement new technology, and more.

4. Team Overview

Introduce your management/leadership and project team members to clients in a captivating and memorable manner using this professionally designed and animated template. The slides comprise avatars of males and females, icons of social media platforms, and editable text placeholders. Leverage these illustrations to showcase your team members’ designation, skills, educational qualifications, professional experience, and social media presence and establish trust among the audience that a competent workforce backs you.

5. Executive Summary Slides  

End your search on this data-driven template if you are looking for a visual aid to present your company’s overview, including mission, vision, values, and other major highlights to board members, clients, investors, shareholders, and other stakeholders. The charts, graphs, and relevant icons in the deck make visualization of data related to market share, financial performance, cost, sales growth rate, total revenue, and customer satisfaction much simpler yet engaging. Moreover, you can showcase the target audience, quarterly tasks, key factors to consider, etc.

6. Problem And Solution Slides  

Download this aesthetically designed template to highlight the pain points and challenges of a specific industry, market, or customer group and how your product/service addresses them. You can present solutions to problems related to business automation, vendor sourcing, product launch, team cohesiveness, project management, working capital management, and more. The deck comes with high-definition visuals to boost the impact of your message and help the audience retain it for longer.

7. Introduce Yourself

With a power-packed self-introduction, you can make a favorable impression and a huge difference. Using it, you can showcase a brief overview of yourself, including your interests, education, professional skills, work experience, achievements, and more. The minimalistic designs will give visual consistency to your content, making it outstanding and memorable. This template can be used by executives in presentations for client meetings, workshops, webinars, seminars, public speaking events, etc.

8. Employee Spotlight

Introduce new employees to their team members in a unique way using this feature-rich template. Featuring visuals of spotlights and male and female employees, icons of social platforms, and editable text placeholders, the slides can be used by senior executives to highlight crucial information about the top performers of different teams. You can also use this set to showcase the skills and expertise of your team members to clients.  

9. Teamwork

This spellbinding template is ideal for making presentations on team-building, collaboration, team dynamics, and team spirit more insightful. Use it to deliver great presentations on the Tuckman model of team building, ways to strengthen team bonding, factors that impact group dynamics, the importance of teamwork in achieving success, and more. The stunning visuals will complement your content, taking your presentations to the next level.

10.  Announcement Slides

Inform your employees about upcoming special events, policy changes, company news, or new initiatives using these vibrant announcement slides. The visuals of hands holding loudspeakers, complemented with relevant icons and customizable text placeholders, give an authentic touch to your content, making your communication smoother and more meaningful. You can also use this template to inform clients and customers about new product launches, limited-time deals or offers, customer training workshops, etc.

Check out these presentation templates and download all those that perfectly match the theme and message of your upcoming presentation! With these sets of slides, you need not worry about the design; invest your time in improving the content and delivery of your message.

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