There are about as many views and definitions of what encompasses “leadership” as there are experts in this field. There is one point that most leadership researchers and developers agree on: leaders are made, not born. Leaders are rarely naturals. But the ultimate level of mastery is to make it look natural.

The great Italian opera tenor, Luciano Pavarotti was an average singer in the Boys’ Choir in Italy when he was a teenager. The only reason they let him in the choir was because his father ran it. He wanted to be spoken of with the same reverence and respect as his fellow countryman, Enrico Caruso. So he studied, and he practiced, and he trained, until he slowly got there.

Not all learners are leaders. But the research clearly shows that the strongest leaders are continuous learners. They are self-made leaders.

Here are a few habit-forming tips and techniques for leadership or personal development:
Spend your time with optimistic and growing people. Unless you’re trying to help them, avoid people with stunted personal growth, the Victimitis Virus, or the Pessimism Plague.

Develop or join a network of colleagues who are as interested in personal learning and development as you are. This can be a powerful source of learning from other people’s experiences. It’s also a great place for you to reflect on your own experiences and articulate your improvement plans.

A group that meets regularly is an excellent forum for making public declarations or even “contracts” around your personal improvement plans. This approach makes it much harder to back away from forming tough, new habits.

Use Benjamin Franklin’s “method for progressing.” He identified thirteen virtues he wanted to develop. Each week he worked on one of the virtues for a total of “four courses (cycles) in a year.” Each night before retiring, Franklin reflected on and recorded his progress on that week’s virtue.

If we can’t manage our time and discipline ourselves to invest time in personal improvement, we won’t grow into ever-stronger leaders. We could easily become a victim of the changes swirling around us. We need to get control of our time, priorities, and destiny. We need to do it soon. Tomorrow is arriving much quicker than it used to.