Resources for leadership techniques and ideas

Every group, organization and institution relies on a leader to take employees or volunteers to new levels. Without leaders, every private concern, corporation, business, governmental entity and entrepreneurship would fail, as successful leaders, by many standards, delegate responsibilities and create an atmosphere where everyone can thrive. The following top 50 up-and-coming leadership blogs, created since January 2009, reflect that notion through leaders who blog, companies that train leaders and communities that maintain blogs to help promote growth.

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Leadership research is a hot field. The results are used to improve educational institutions and businesses. But, many people are still pretty much in the dark about how leadership research works, its primary purpose, history and how results are used. Here are 21 facts you may not know about leadership research.

1. Leadership research has its roots in tests that filtered out the character traits of leaders as compared to the character traits of followers. Learning what traits natural leaders possessed helped to cement the foundation of further research.
2. These first analyses took place between 1900 and 1950.
3. The original research determined that there was no single trait or combination of traits explained the leaders’ abilities.
4. Many studies have been conducted that examined how situations affected the abilities of leaders.
5. Leadership studies of the 1970s and 80s focused on the individual characteristics of leaders who had significant impact on their organizations.
6. Research from the 1970s and 80s determined that while leaders are an essential component of organizations, they are also one of the most complex components.
7. Certain traits were examined in leaders. These included: intelligence, birth order, socioeconomic status, and child rearing practices.
8. In 1974, Stodgill, one of the pioneers of leadership research, determined six categories of personal factors associated with leadership: capacity, achievement, responsibility, participation, status and situation. But, even with this discovery, researchers warned that the information was too narrow, saying that no person becomes a leader simply by possessing a certain list of character traits.
9. The impact of situations on the development of leaders was important during 1970s and 1980s studies, as well. Research determined that the requirements of the setting played an important role in the development of leaders. In other words, to really become a good leader, one must be put in the position of having to step up to the plate.
10. Many people are capable of being a follower or a leader depending upon the situation they’re put in.
11. Research has determined that effective leaders are those who are able to address two different kinds of needs within their organizations: efficiency needs and human needs. Good leaders are effective at both planning and implementation tasks and at working with the people in their organizations.
12. Research by Barnes and Krieger in 1986 determined that previous leadership research was insufficient because it relied on models of one leader/many followers.
13. According Barnes and Krieger, leadership is more of a reflection of an organization, rather than a person. In other words, in the most successful organizations, leaders’ roles overlap, and different people take on leadership roles at different times.
14. Barnes and Krieger’s research also focused on teams, rather than individuals as leaders.
15. Later research began to focus on the trait of vision as an important one for leaders.
16. Later research also focused on the differences between leaders and managers. The saying was formed that managers are people who do things right, and leaders are people who do the right thing.
17. This research on the leader as compared to the manager helped us to understand that someone who is a good manager will see that the work gets done. Someone who is a good leader will ensure that the work we are doing is what it needs to be. The best executives have both the traits of a manager and of a leader.
18. Some of the most recent findings on leadership have placed a great deal of emphasis on the fact that good leaders value the human resources at their disposal more highly than less effective leaders.
19. Transformational leadership is one of the hot terms in leadership research. It is defined as a process by which leaders and followers raise one another to higher levels of morality and motivation.
20. Some of the most recent findings on leadership suggest that today’s leaders are more focused on being prepared to handle worst case scenarios. For example, the Journal of Management Development suggested in a recent article, that today’s leader would never have drilled a deep water oil well in the Gulf of Mexico until they were sure the technology existed to contain it.
21. The Journal of Leadership Studies recently concluded that the more a company focuses on internal leadership growth, the better its sales, profits and profit margins.

Today, there is a lot of leadership research going on, but it’s difficult to tell how much business organizations really follow the research or use its findings to better their companies.

Twitter is a great place to keep up with friends, follow news and learn about what’s going on in the world, or just what’s going on with your favorite entertainer. But, it’s also a great place to help you stay motivated. Take a look at these twenty inspirational leaders who are on Twitter.

1. Tony Robbins: Tony Robbins is a well known motivational speaker. Robbins writes about subjects such as health and energy, overcoming fears, persuasive communication, and enhancing relationships.
2. Jack Canfield: Jack Canfield is an author and motivational speaker. He is best known for his series of “Chicken Soup for the Soul” books, which he co-authors with Mark Victor Hansen.
3. Stephen R. Covey:Stephen R. Covey is one of America’s most well known motivational speakers. He is the author of “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People”.
4. Tom Ziglar: The son of legendary author and motivational speaker Zig Ziglar, Tom Ziglar is following in Dad’s footsteps. He brings his dad’s personal development philosophies into the digital age.
5. Paulo Coelho: Coelho is a Brazilian lyricist and novelist. He is the author of the bestselling novel, The Alchemist, which has become one of the top selling books in history, holding the Guinness World Record for most translated book by a living author.
6. Les Brown: As a child Les Brown was declared “mentally retarded” and suffered many setbacks and failures in school. Now a renowned professional speaker, author and TV personality, Les Brown’s own rags to riches story fuels his inspiring “live up to greatness” message to people of all ages.
7. Marci Shimoff: Author of Happy for No Reason, Shimoff is one of the most popular motivational speakers aimed at women.
8. Larry Winget: Called the “pitbull of personal development”, Winget is a no nonsense kind of guy. But, his “in your face” truth telling can help you find what’s holding you back.
9. Yossi Ghinsberg: Yossi Ghinsberg has traveled the globe absorbing the spiritual lessons of the world’s indigenous populations. Ghinsberg has used this humanitarian approach to organize symposiums and publish works around issues like biodiversity, treating opiate addiction, and conflict resolution.
10. Susan Piver: Piver writes about love, creativity, and spirituality. She is the New York Times bestselling author of The Hard Questions: 100 Essential Questions to Ask Before You Say “I Do” and the award-winning How Not to Be Afraid of Your Own Life, in which she offers insight and information about conquering the fears that hold you back.
11. Brian Tracy: Brian Tracy is an amazing business guru who became a VP of Sales at age 25. He is now a board member of Washington DC public policy institute The Heritage Foundation. Tracy has authored several books, audio materials and even an online leadership course.
12. Dr. Wayne Dyer: Dyer is best known for his book “Your Erroneous Zones”. He is one of the leading authors in humanism.
13. Gail Goodwin: Gail Goodwin is a writer and an “ambassador of inspiration”.
14. Dan Millman: Dan Millman is the author of thirteen self-help books, the most famous of which is the semi-autobiographical novel, Way of the Peaceful Warrior.
15. Byron Mitchell: Byron Mitchell is a speaker and author who teaches a method of self-inquiry known as “The Work of Byron Katie” or simply as “The Work.” She tweets a steady stream of inspirational messages.
16. Robin Sharma: Sharma is the author of several books, and an expert on leadership and personality development.
17. Louise Hay: Louise Hay’s life is an inspiration. Her story includes being raped at 5 years old and curing herself from cervical cancer. She is also a publisher and inspirational leader.
18. Jim Rohn: Jim Rohn is an entrepreneur, whose story is inspirational. He has also helped launch other inspirational speakers, such as Jack Canfield.
19. Sonia Choquette: Choquette is an inspirational leader who focuses on freeing the authentic spirit by letting go of restrictions and fear of ego.
20. Ken Blanchard: Blanchard is a management expert and owner of a management training company. He is also the author of over 30 bestselling books on leadership.

These are some of the most inspirational people you can find anywhere. And, now you have quick access to all their advice everyday on Twitter.