Ponder the following questions before you read this article: Am I an effective team leader? Do I want to lead? Do you have to have a certain title or job description to lead? Are men or women better leaders? Are leaders born or made?

But wait a minute what is a leader? There are thousands and maybe millions of books, articles, and essays, written on the topic of leaders and leadership. Ask 10 people to define essential characteristics of a good leader and you will get 10 different answers. A leader is someone who has followers. They follow the leader because s/he influences them or has an impact in some way.

The terms leader and manager are often confused. A leader has a vision and a longer- term view. A leader charts the course the manager pilots the ship (executes the task.) A wonderful distinction is in the timeless Stephen R. Covey work 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. The essence of the Covey distinction describes the manager in the jungle directing his team to cut down the trees. They are making great progress. The leader climbs up the tallest tree and shouts “wrong jungle.”

Women as Leaders
Women continue to be underrepresented in the top leadership roles of many organizations. The nutrition and dietetics industry, dominated by women, is hungry for RD leaders. Many women shun the role of leader and leave it to others. Do you want to lead? The term “glass ceiling” coined by the Wall Street Journal in the 1980′s describes the barriers that appear to prevent women from rising to the top of organizations. This clever yet damaging term has left too many women believing it was not possible for them to become senior leaders. If you believe the glass ceiling is holding you back it will. Women can choose to point the finger, blame others, or take responsibility for changing the situation

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