All aboard the Leadership Express!
Station Ten: Skill Builder Hub
Welcome Aboard: The Rise As A Leader Journey!
Every great leader embarks on a journey, and today, we continue ours. Each stop along the way reveals new insights, challenges, and discoveries about yourself as a leader.
Our final destination? Your personalized Leadership Development Plan, a roadmap to becoming the leader you aspire to be.
Today, we arrived at: Skill Builder Hub – What do you need to grow into that leader?
This stop is all about identifying the specific skills that you need to grow into your future leadership self.
Reflect. Write. Grow. You can’t build what you can’t name.
Let’s dive in!
Reflective Questions
Here are some questions to help you reflect deeper.
You can’t build what you can’t name!
A skill is a specific ability that a person defines, learns, and practices until it becomes second nature. It is both measurable and improvable through repetition and feedback.
Example:
Intentional listening is the skill of fully focusing on the speaker, not just on their words, but also their tone, body language, and emotional undercurrent.
For the purpose of this question, we are only defining skills. please see the remaining questions as they will help you differentiate between skills and (tools, habits and or competencies).
A tool is a technique, strategy, or method that helps you develop or apply a skill. Tools are how you practice, refine, and reinforce what you’re learning.
Example:
Paraphrasing is a tool that helps you practice intentional listening. By restating what the speaker said in your own words, you confirm understanding and build connection.
Think of your journey like climbing a mountain. You’ve seen the peak, but now you stop to check your backpack.
What’s missing? What tools would make this climb easier?
The better your tools, the more empowered you are.
A habit is an action performed so frequently that it becomes automatic. Habits form the foundation of consistent leadership behavior, shaping how you show up daily.
Example:
Starting each meeting with a moment of silence and intention, setting is a habit that centers your focus and creates presence.
A competency is a broader capability made up of multiple, interrelated skills. It is an area that is made up of multiple related skills, behaviors, and knowledge areas.
In the context of this leadership journey, we are not just identifying general competencies, we are breaking them down to discover the precise skills they contain. This helps make development more focused, trackable, and practical.
Think of a competency as the category, and skills as the ingredients that bring it to life.
An example:
Communication is a competency, but it is not a single skill. It includes a cluster of skills, such as:
- Active listening
- Nonverbal communication (eye contact, posture, gestures)
- Empathy and emotional awareness
- Clear and concise writing
- Storytelling and public speaking
- Adapting your message to different audiences
Research, this is the ongoing process of exploring, observing, and gathering information from diverse sources to deepen your understanding and expand your knowledge.
For leaders, research includes reading, asking powerful questions, seeking feedback, learning from others, and staying curious about emerging ideas and best practices.
These are the practical building blocks required to embody your leadership vision. Skills are capabilities (like active listening or empathy). Tools are strategies or resources (like time-blocking, coaching frameworks, journaling). Habits are repeated actions (like morning reflection, feedback loops).
You may already “see” the leader you want to become, but now it’s time to get specific about how to get there.
Knowing the name of what you need gives you direction. You can’t build what you can’t name.
Useful illustration:
Remember the question about who you are as a leader today? This is where you stand now (Station Three). While the vision is where you are heading (Station Nine). To make the best use of this question, write down all the skills that you need to close the gap between Station Three & Station Nine.
Imagine your future self is calm under pressure.
To become that version of you, you might need:
- The competency of emotional intelligence
- The skill of self-awareness
- The tool of breathwork or reframing
- The habit of pausing before reacting
Suddenly, the abstract becomes concrete. Now you can practice.
Go back to the vision of your future self & list down all the skills that will help you reach it. If you have less than 50 skills, think again.
Prompt yourself with:
- What do I need to learn?
- What do I need to practice regularly?
- What mindset do I want to strengthen?
- What conversations do I need to start having?
Next stop: [Talent Inventory Station] – Let’s see what you already carry with you! You’re more prepared than you think. Let’s open the toolkit.
Your leadership vision is in motion—let’s keep riding toward bringing it to life!