DAVID HARBOURNE, director of the Learning And Skills Council, North Yorkshire, explains why he is willing to be led to leadership

MY name is down for a two-day course to boost my leadership skills. I have mixed feelings about it.

At one level, I look at the diary and think it will be impossible to spare the time away from the office. But at another level, time spent away from the normal hectic routine is rarely wasted, especially as the whole point of this session will be to challenge me - to make me think again about what makes the difference between "leadership" and "management". And I am bound to come away from the session with some fresh ideas which I can put into practice back at the ranch.

I am completely ready to accept that leadership is something that can be cultivated. Of course, there are born leaders - the sort who automatically commanded respect even in the playground, and who rise naturally to positions of authority as adults.

But how many people fit this pen picture? Most people called upon to act as leaders have worked their way to the top the hard way, through hard work and an ability to get jobs done, and not just because others see them as natural born leaders.

Leadership is very hard to define. However, ask staff in any organisation what qualities they want their leaders to display, and they will tend to mention things like honesty; the ability to provide inspiration; and competence.

Good leaders know how to get things done, and how to persuade others to follow their lead. The leader must know where the organisation is going, and be able to communicate this effectively so that everyone lines up behind a shared vision and sense of purpose.

So how do you learn to be a better leader? Many leadership trainers base their courses on case studies. They find out how you would react to a particular challenge and then describe how others have handled similar issues in the past. They may also ask about your normal ways of working. Do you like to be deeply involved in all the daily detail, or are you a willing delegator? Your instinct may be to do a task yourself ("It'll be quicker if I do it"), but actually it might be better tackled by a member of your team while you get on with something else.

Do you worry only about today, or do you set time aside to plan for tomorrow? Do your staff and your customers have a clear idea of how your organisation is going to develop in the future?

There are many techniques that can help build up a leader's skills and confidence. The trick is to make time to find out about them, whether by going on a course, by reading, or simply by talking to other leaders about their experience. That's what I'm going to do, and I'm sure it will be time well spent.

Updated: 09:48 Tuesday, September 24, 2002