Some people are natural leaders. They usually move to the forefront in work situations, and they're usually the first to be promoted or change jobs. For the rest of us, there are ways to cultivate leadership skills, both on and off the job, that can help advance our careers and help us meet daily challenges.

How can a busy health care professional enhance leadership skills? What traits can be developed to build teamwork and help achieve goals? Where can these skills be practiced?

Look around your workplace. Are there interdepartmental committees that seek members? Can you represent your department on a management team? Does your organization's community outreach include opportunities for you at health fairs, job events or community education programs? Any of these activities can provide a chance for leadership development.

Volunteer to serve on a committee, even if it's only for an hour a month. After several months of getting to know the lay of the land and key participants, ask for a project to manage. This will give you a chance to start developing leadership skills.To outsiders, natural leaders seem to tackle projects without much struggle. They know just what to do, but for the most part, these leaders learned their skills and practiced them over time. Noted psychologist Wayne Dyer promotes the theory "If you see it, you'll believe it," reinforcing the method of picturing success in your mind's eye.

Before you begin, talk with a committee member about the goal of the project and formalize it in a simple statement. Break the task down into manageable steps that will engage others in the project. Here's what most successful leaders do, even if they don't realize it, when creating a team:

> Select the team. Look for people with the right values and competencies and a desire to achieve.

> Build the team. Make sure they have the knowledge and skills to do the job. Focus and build on people's strengths. We often spend too much time trying to fix weaknesses that cannot be fixed.

> Lead the team. Talk the vision and lead by example. Communicate the values that are important to the team.

> Coach the team. Help them develop the strategy and then see that the tactics are implemented.

> Reward the team. Reward team members for hard work and support effort as well as for results. Recognize the behavior you want and reward it.

> Make sure all team members are aware of the goal and have bought into the objective. Set clear deadlines and expectations. Delegate and be sure that each team member has ownership of a part of the project. Be concerned about the outcome, not the process of getting there.

Once you realize that successful leaders are those who guide and coach, not those who do the work, you can begin to develop your own leadership skills.