If you’ve ever caught yourself Googling “what are leadership skills?” or “how do I become a better leader at work?” — you’re not alone. Leadership isn’t a personality trait you’re either born with or without. It’s a set of skills, mindsets, and behaviours that can be learned, practised, and refined over time. And the best leaders actively seek out a range of learning experiences (spoiler alert, they’re not always in a classroom) and are always looking for ways to improve their leadership skills and abilities. For great leaders, the learning never stops.
At Epic People, we see leadership as a practical, human skill. It’s about how you show up every day — in conversations, decisions, feedback, and moments that matter. And we believe that you don’t need a new job title to start developing leadership skills, because everyone, no matter what their role, will need to step up and lead at some point.
In this article, we’ll break down what leadership skills really are, why they matter, and how you can develop them at work in ways that actually stick.
The purpose of leadership development
Great leaders aren’t created by accident. While some people may naturally lean into leadership behaviours, most effective leaders have learned — often the hard way — how to lead well.
Leadership development helps people:
- Understand their strengths and blind spots
- Shift from doing the work to leading the work
- Build confidence in decision-making and communication
- Lead in a way that feels authentic, not forced
- Build relationships and rapport with people above, below and alongside them.
One of the biggest challenges we see in kiwi organisations is promoting people into leadership roles based on their technical expertise (I bet you’re nodding right now!). Being great at your job doesn’t automatically mean you know how to coach others, manage performance, or handle difficult conversations. Technical skills don’t always equate to leadership skills.
That’s where leadership development makes the difference. It bridges the gap between individual contributor and people leader, giving current and emerging leaders (that’s you, right?) the tools they need to succeed — without losing themselves in the process.
Essential elements for success
There’s no one-size-fits-all approach to leadership development. But the most effective leadership skills programmes will have a range of activities and will share a few key ingredients.
Self-awareness and psychometric tools
If you were to ask me what the most important trait of a leader is, I’d say hands down, it’s self-awareness. Before you can lead others well, you need to understand how you operate and the impact that your behaviour has on the people around you (up, down and sideways).
Psychometric tools help leaders explore their preferences, motivators, communication style, and stress responses. When used well, these tools spark insight and reflection — not labels or boxes. They identify which leadership skills need the most polishing.
We often pair psychometric assessments with social intelligence training, helping leaders understand how their behaviour lands on others and how to adapt their approach without compromising who they are.
Practical skill-building
Leadership skills aren’t developed by reading slides — it’s learned by doing.
Effective leadership training focuses on practical, everyday skills, such as:
- Setting clear expectations
- Managing performance and accountability
- Giving feedback that actually helps
- Delegating without micromanaging
- Communicating clearly (especially when things get tricky)
Workshops, role plays, real-life scenarios, and applied learning help leaders practice these skills in a safe environment before taking them back to the workplace.
For this to be really effective, we suggest some formal training which is spaced out over several weeks or months, giving you time to learn skills one by one, and implement them as you work through the programme. Check out our team leader development programme which teaches the foundational leadership skills and facilitates real time application at work.
Coaching and feedback
This is where development really sticks.
Coaching and structured feedback helps leaders reflect, course-correct, and grow with intention. While a leader’s own manager plays an important role, external coaching can add real value by providing neutral, experienced support.
Tools like 360-degree feedback are particularly powerful. They give leaders insight into how their behaviour is perceived over time and highlight where small changes can make a big difference.
Sometimes you might need to prod your own manager into some coaching (or ask them to attend our coaching skills for managers workshop!). You can do this by asking for feedback, or proactively discussing your work, your wins and your failures with them.
Real-world projects
Leadership development can start in a classroom, or your workplace can be your classroom.
For people who aren’t yet managing others, leading real projects is a great way to build leadership capability. These projects connect your learning to real organisational goals and challenges, helping you practice influence, decision-making, communication, collaboration and accountability.
We see this as a win-win: practical outcomes for the business and visible growth for you.
The benefits of strong leadership skills
When organisations invest in leadership skills, the impact goes far beyond the people attending the programme.
Stronger teams and culture
Leaders set the tone. When they communicate clearly, lead with empathy, and create psychological safety, teams are more engaged, collaborative, and resilient.
This directly shapes workplace culture — not through posters on the wall, but through everyday behaviour.
Better decision-making
Leadership development builds emotional intelligence and critical thinking. Leaders who understand themselves and their people are better equipped to make balanced decisions, even under pressure, and feel more confident to work through the consequences of their decisions.
Improved retention and engagement
People are more likely to stay where they feel supported and developed. Investing in leadership capability sends a clear message: we value our people and their growth. And the cool thing is that it’s not just the leaders you’re investing in – managers have such an enormous impact on employee engagement, that you’re indirectly investing in every single person who reports to a great manager.
What organisation doesn’t want higher engagement and lower employee turnover?
Future-ready capability
Strong leaders create more strong leaders.
By developing leadership capability internally, organisations build resilience, continuity, and readiness for change — especially important in fast-moving or uncertain environments. When people see that you’re investing in leaders, they have confidence in their own future with your organisation, which may be in leadership.
What leadership development programmes really work?
The most effective leadership development programmes are flexible, practical, and relevant.
They often include a mix of:
- Workshops and seminars – facilitated sessions to build core skills and peer connection
- Coaching sessions – one-on-one or small-group support tailored to individual needs
- In-house programmes – customised solutions aligned to organisational culture and goals
- Tailored learning – combining 360-feedback, social intelligence training and psychometric assessments means that each person can have leadership development learning and activities that are specific to them and helps to prioritise which leadership skills to work on.
What matters most isn’t the format — it’s that leaders walk away with skills they can use immediately AND are being supported well to implement those skills (check out our article about that here).
When to invest in leadership development
Just like investing and planting trees, the right time is now.
Leadership development is most effective when it’s proactive, not reactive. Common triggers include:
- promoting someone into their first leadership role
- periods of growth, change, or restructure
- a need to realign or strengthen workplace culture
- ongoing challenges with engagement or retention
Organisations that invest early build confident leaders who are ready — not scrambling — when challenges arise.
Why developing leadership skills matters more than ever
Leading people is becoming more complex. Today’s leaders are navigating hybrid teams, changing expectations, and increasing uncertainty — all while maintaining trust, connection, and performance.
Technical expertise alone isn’t enough.
A structured approach to leadership development builds adaptability, resilience, and empathy, helping leaders support both results and wellbeing.
Creating leaders who love their work
Leadership development isn’t a tick-box exercise. It’s an ongoing journey of learning, reflection, and growth.
The best leaders stay curious, ask questions, and keep refining how they show up for their people.
If you’re ready to develop leadership skills at work — or want to build confident, capable leaders across your organisation — Epic People can help.
Our customised leadership development programmes combine practical training, psychometric insight, and real-world application to create leaders who make a lasting difference (and actually enjoy leading).
Talk to us about leadership development – we’re here for kiwi businesses.
