Chapter 1 - The Fundamentals

The purpose of this chapter is to identify the primary subjects to study at the very beginning of leadership skills training. The Fundamentals is important to establish in order for the trainee to understand the building blocks on which the future will depend.

1. The Basics
1.1. Respect for others
1.2. Positive attitude
1.3. Integrity
1.4. Self-discipline
1.5. Be able to Listen

The Basics is the foundation that every person must have to be a leader. These five personal qualities are like the legs of a stool on which you stand throughout your life as a leader of your family, your community and your country. Some, or all, of these personal qualities may be a natural part of your character and some must be learned through study and exercise. Study and exercise are the primary tools used throughout this training manual to develop the characteristics of a leader.

2. The Learning Environment
2.1. The Family
2.2. Friends and Fun
2.3. Your Community
2.4. The Classroom
2.5. Working

The Learning Environment provides the most influence in your learning experience. The family has the most influence because you are in that environment more than any of the others especially during the early formative years. After becoming an adult working becomes a major contributor to your learning experience because much of your time is spent providing for your livelihood. As a young person Family, The Classroom, and Friends and Fun are places where the learning experience has the most influence. This leadership training course concentrates on The Classroom and Friends and Fun as the environment of choice to teach leadership skills.

The learning experience is everywhere. You make a choice of what you learn by participating. It should be noted that learning is a continuous process no matter where you are, who you are with, or what you are doing. Using what you learn is entirely a different matter. Learning and using leadership skills is the focus of this training course and should be constantly reinforced throughout your life.

3. Participation
3.1. Family
3.2. Community
3.3. School
3.4. Friends
3.5. Working

Participating in life is a must when learning or implementing leadership skills. Leadership involves other people. It is a necessary ingredient that determines your capabilities and will determine whether or not you are a bad leader, a good leader or just an average leader. This leadership training course requires you to participate by interacting with other people in many different ways. The first step in the leadership skills training course is to learn to follow. You can not be a leader if you do not first learn to be a follower.

4. Levels of Leadership
4.1. Follower
4.2. Leader of a small group
4.3. Leader of bigger groups
4.4. Leader of your family
4.5. Leader in your community
4.6. Leader of our nation

Levels of Leadership are important to understand from the beginning because it can help determine where you want to go and how fast you need to get there. It should also be understood from the beginning that your level of learning and participation will be determined by each person and by circumstances that you may or may not have any control. Be aware that there are many more followers than there are leaders but the focus of this leadership skills training course is to provide you with an opportunity to obtain the highest level you want and can manage.

5. Leadership Skills Training Facilities
5.1. Your Family
5.2. The Classroom
5.3. Your Community
5.4. Our Nation

Leadership Skills Training Facilities are everywhere. It’s like the environment in which we live. If you are alert to the clues of your natural surroundings you can find information that will help determine how well you learn and how fast you learn as well as what you learn. The Family is the first and most important of these “facilities”. Taking directions from your parents and following them is the first step. Learn to follow before you can lead. The Classroom is where listening and following direction outside the influence of The Family starts to take shape. The Classroom can be in many different places, not just the schools we all attend. The Classroom is the first place where participation in a group becomes important and is one of the building blocks to developing leadership. For example, how you treat your fellow classmates can help identify natural abilities from those that need training. While The Community and Our Nation are the same as The Classroom in many respects they are on a much larger scale and they also bring on more serious consequences for the lack of leadership. The focus of this Leadership Skills Training course is to prepare you to be the best you can be at whatever level you can manage. We will concentrate on The Classroom as the training facility for this training course.

6. The Classroom Lessons
6.1. Self-Management
6.2. Study Habits
6.3. Reading Skills

The Classroom Lessons are identified here to help prepare each “leader in training” of what is needed from each person during the process of learning the leadership’s skills being taught.

Self-Management is perhaps the most important aspect of any leader for without self-management none of the other lessons will take its intended effect. Manage your resources such as your time, you energy, and your health. Each of these fundamentals of your life contributes substantially to your ability to your success. Study habits and reading skills are two necessary aspects of learning to master in order for the messages of learning to take affect.

7. The Classroom Environment
7.1. The Military Standard
7.2. The Business Standard
7.3. Chain or Command
7.4. Customs and Courtesies
7.5. Uniforms and Personal Dress
7.6. Drill and Ceremonies

The Classroom Environment is important to establish and understand its purpose which is to set the stage and the standard to learn the skills needed to become a leader. Establishing who the leader is and who the follower is in the classroom is necessary simply because the leader is the teacher while the follower is the student. Establishing the military or business standard is also important because there are major differences between them. Learning leadership skills is easier to establish and understand using the military standard because of its specific structure that is used to make the point of what constitutes leadership. The Business Standard varies depending on many factors that impact how business operates. Leadership skills that are learned using the military standard can also be used very effectively in the business world. The Military Standard makes clear what the chain of command means, what its function and how it’s to be used. All societies have customs and courtesies that involve how people are treated, which is a basic requirement, while the dress code is a reflection of what you think of yourself. Drill and ceremonies is an exercise that reinforces what a leader and a follower has learned and how the lessons are put into action. The actions used during drill and ceremonies are an outgrowth of the learning experience and is part of the learning process.