Experts say that though motivation, leaders would be able to make decisions that would affect his or her life and career in the future. In most leadership development trainings, motivating the participants is usually one of the major highlights because this is the key to the success of the activity. The trainors focus on motivating leaders because they believe that this is the first step for them to develop a positive outlook in life. This is what has plagued organizations since the dawn of time; yes, the organization may be too big to fail but get an incompetent in the right place and it'll topple on its own. That's what happened to the Roman Empire and that's what has happened to several businesses across the years. Leadership development helps identify competent people and give them the tools to lead it also identifies not-so-competent people and give them the tools not to screw up so much. The leadership development activities before were only confined to Masters in Business Administration (MBA) style programs that are usually offered in prestigious universities and business schools. But now, the trends in leadership development have shifted into a more laid back and personal setting. Although there is still the serious and formal aspect of it, many people who conduct it are incorporating other means to motivate the participants to actively join the sessions. It is very important that you be honest with yourself in this part which is why most leadership development programs have counselors to assist you at this stage; they're nor exactly necessary but they help cut through all the excuses and justifications that you make for yourself. Look at your goals and look at yourself what traits and skills can help you reach those goals? Developing Leadership Personalities A self-help guru once defined leadership as simply the ability to make things happen using the help of other people s skills and abilities. Some leaders are quite gifted from birth, but many leaders go through leadership development after being spotted to possess the leadership potentials. Competencies Recently, a 2002 study found that leading-edge companies define leadership by a set of competencies. These are now used to guide leadership development at all levels. By the same token, a majority of organizations have, on their own, identified and defined the characteristics and qualities of successful leaders.