An education can only take a leader so far in life, though it never stands as a detriment. In order to succeed in positions where they must organize and guide other people, a multitude of different skills and qualities must first be honed. Fortunately, the internet allows business types to network and share their experiences, insights, and observations into the dos and do nots of leadership. While the following blog posts are not the only worthwhile reads available for free online, they nevertheless provide an excellent foundation for those wanting to know more about how to better strengthen the necessary abilities and virtues to both obtain and maintain leadership positions.

1. “What Organizations Value in Leaders” at Leading Blog

Michael McKinney provides some excellent information and infographics on what skills and traits the top-ranked companies for leadership look for in their employees.

2. “Ten Questions with Scott Berkun, Author of ‘The Myths of Innovation’” at How to Change the World

In this insightful interview, Guy Kawasaki probes Scott Berkun’s perceptions of innovation and creativity – making this an intriguing read for leaders hoping to better balance realism with idealism.

3. “Bridging Gender, Consumer Behavior & Social Responsibility” at Learned On by Andrea Learned

As Andrea Learned points out, a good marketer is one who contentiously includes as many demographics as possible and pays close attention to trends. Leaders can benefit from these quick lessons in building bridges between different types of people.

4. “Leaders, Be an ‘Undercover Customer’” at Great Leadership

Dan McCarthy encourages leaders to become more engaged in the inner workings of their companies and employees by looking at the business from a consumer’s perspective.

5. “Show Chaos Who’s Boss” at 800 CEO Read

This blog post discusses the book Exploiting Chaos by Jack Gutsche, which encourages the use of creativity, innovation, and flexibility during periods of confusion and disorder.

6. “8 Tips for Performance Metrics” at NOOP.NL

In addition to analyzing the progress and skills of their followers and peers, competent leaders must also understand how to look inside themselves and make note of how they themselves can improve as well.

7. “5 Things Employees Need to Learn – From You” at Talking Story with Rosa Say

Rosa Say advises leaders current and future alike to connect with those around them by clearly communicating with them and establishing more personable relationships.

8. “Accepting Limits” at Seth’s Blog

Though brief, Seth Godin’s reflections on remaining realistic and placing people’s abilities and experiences into their proper contexts make for necessary reading.

9. “Switch – How to Change Things when Change is Hard” at CEO Blog – Time Leadership

Jim Estill reviews Chip and Dan Heath’s book Switch – How to Change Things When Change is Hard and interviews the latter author, making this an insightful glimpse into how leaders need to think on their feet when faced with a seemingly unyielding challenge.

10. “Appreciation! ‘Tool’ No. 1” at tompeters!

Successful leaders should familiarize themselves with basic psychological principles in order to better understand their peers, and this blog post focuses on the necessity of showing kindness and appreciation in business situations.

11. “Confessions from a Natural-Born Starter About Follow-Through” at Management Craft

Anyone in a leadership or management position with an inclination towards putting all their energy into starting a project, leaving little left for finishing, should absorb Lisa Haneberg’s advice on better pacing for the task at hand.

12. “The Apprentice Leader: Making the transition to leadership” at Three Star Leadership Blog

Even those with a natural inclination towards leadership should still read up on Wally Bock’s different pointers that can help them once they move upwards in their careers.

13. “9 Reasons for Reading Business Books” at Life Beyond Code

Rajesh Setty, an avid reader of business literature, blogs about the necessity of engaging in such works and their potential role in shaping leaders for the better.

14. “Traits of a Great Leader” at Stephen Shapiro’s 24/7 Innovation

Unfortunately, many people today believe more in a leader’s outside than their inside. This blog post reflects upon that phenomenon and asks readers to think about the relationship between looks and skill.

15. “Define, Learn, Do – 3 Keys to Success” at Orrin Woodward Leadership Team

These three extremely simple steps can help leaders focus on networking and learning from a more positive, relaxed angle.

16. “‘Manager vs. Leader’ definition” at Crossderry Blog

This short but provocative blog post – as well as the comments beneath it – dive into the intriguing (and largely philosophical) differences between the traits of managers and leaders.

17. “Top 5 business maxims that need to go” at Chief Happiness Officer

The unconventional, positive leader tired of more traditional, restrictive business perspectives would do well to consider Alexander Kjerulf’s new credos for a healthier work environment.

18. “6 Building Blocks to a Fortress of Credibility in the Workplace” at TerryStarbucker.com

SOBCon founder Terry Starbucker’s excellent blog post underlines why those in leadership positions must work diligently to establish their credibility and competence in the eyes of peers.

19. “Scientific Proof: Crazy bosses can KILL you!” at Bing

Good leaders are those who do not stress out their followers to the point it causes heart problems and other negative physiological conditions, as Fortune magazine’s Stanley Bing helpfully points out.

20. “Leadership Q&A: The Structure Question” at Weekly Leader

Current and future leaders alike ought to deeply engage themselves with these excellent, intelligent perspectives on how a business’s structure can make or break the effectiveness of its management.

21. “Self leadership” at Lead On Purpose

Before moving up to a group, a well-rounded, capable leader must first learn how to manage his or her own life and remain willing to grow, accept critique, and adapt to varying situations.

22. “7 Leadership Strengths Are Weaknesses When Taken Too Far” at The Recovering Leader

Businesses may desire traits such as high standards and strategic capabilities in those leading their employees, but David Peck points out that they can actively work against goals when practiced in access.

23. “Executive Vision Statements – Five Common Reasons CEOs Do Not Share Their Vision” at Maximize Possibility

Chris Young believes that CEOs electing to stay mum about their goals and ideas for the company are actually damaging themselves and their employees. To combat this, he offers up some sound advice on communication as an essential tool for effective leaders.

24. “Coaching and Narrative Therapy” at Ed Batista

The best leaders must act as psychologists to some extent, and this detailed blog post offers some concise information on therapy tactics that career coaches use to better connect with their peers.

25. “Do you pit people or do you pair them?” at Sanders Says

Competition can be a healthy means of ensuring productivity and creativity in the workplace, but Tim Sanders warns against nurturing such things too heavily or too frequently.

26. “What keeps organizations from effectively developing leaders?” at Coaching Tip: The Leadership Blog

John G. Agno delves into how some companies self-sabotage due to inadequate leadership, encouraging all the skills needed to attain success.

27. “How To Run Highly Important Meetings” at Les McKeown’s Predictable Success® Blog

Managers and others in leadership roles ought to learn the most productive strategies for conducting necessary meetings in order to maximize engagement and productivity without isolating employees.

28. “Curiousity” at The Trump Blog

Donald Trump extols one of the veritable cornerstones of childhood as a thoroughly integral leadership virtue.

29. “Davos: Business Leaders Focus on 5 Sustainability Themes” at Management IQ

BusinessWeek guest blogger and Managing Director of Accenture Sustainability Services Peter Lacy wrote out his observations on trends towards creating a lasting, contentious business gleaned from the World Economic Forum.

30. “Even Leaders Have Leaders – How Do We Sort Out Who Leads Whom?” at Mission Minded Management

Michelle Malay Carter outlines a few different observations she has made regarding leadership hierarchies and what employees expect of those placed in charge of their projects.

31. “10 Reasons Your Team Hates You (They Just Won’t Say It To Your Face” at The thoughtLEADERS Blog

One of the hallmarks of true leadership is an ability to accept criticism and analyze areas where those being led may deem in need of vast improvement.

32. “Why CEOs should not blog without facts” at The Garlington Report (TGR)

Sometimes, individuals in extremely high leadership positions lose sight of what lower-level employees truly want. Jeremy C. Garlington blogs briefly on the importance of openness versus spouting generic platitudes on positivity and productivity.

33. “An Example of ‘Absurd Leadership’” at Leadership Insights

Bill Caskey writes about a situation involving amazingly terrible leadership and management, showing how poor communication and disorganization can end up in precarious and downright strange situations.

34. “When You Should And Shouldn’t Give Advice” at Mitch’s Blog

While leaders of all stripes garner respect for their ability to guide and comfort their followers, T.T. Mitchell points out that the best ones know when to keep quiet and step aside.

35. “Listen Up Leaders – Feelings Aren’t Monkey Business” at Bait, Tackle, Ice, Advice & Beer Blog

With great cheekiness and poignant observation, Melissa Laughon discusses why leaders should make an honest effort to connect with the emotions of their followers and avoid the trappings of aloofness.

36. “When An Apology Is Not Enough” at Tim Milburn

All people – regardless of whether or not they hold any leadership positions – must learn the value of humility and learning from one’s mistakes so as to minimize negative impacts on others.

37. “Habits” at Curious Cat Management Blog

Heightened levels of self-awareness can help leaders and followers alike remain mindful of the positive and negative habits they find themselves exhibiting.

38. “Little things that make a BIG difference as a Leader” at Create Learning Team Building Blog

By this point, most people realize how tiny, seemingly insignificant elements in life can resonate in a massive way. Michael Cardus shows how this concept can apply to working in a leadership role.

39. “Leadership Caffeine: 7 Signs that Monotony and Routine Have Taken Over” at Management Excellence

Monotony and routine can kill motivation, creativity, and productivity, and Art Petty provides readers with a few suggestions on how to quell the negativity without impeding on their employees’ success.

40. “Transitioning Our Teams From Survival To Opportunity” at The Six Disciplines Blog

This blog post actually links to a podcast featuring Small Business Advocate’s Jim Blasingame interview with Gary Harpst (CEO of The Six Disciplines) regarding how to turn troublesome struggles into something a little more positive and productive.

41. “Leadership Development – Bad Leaders” at Center for Leader Development

Instead of learning from the best, walk away with extremely valuable lessons from the very worst with this list of 10 horrifically corrupt leaders.

42. “Exploring the Depths” at Steve Farber

Steve Farber discusses an inspiring story of Johns Hopkins University’s Orphan Outreach program, underscoring the importance of practicing love, compassion, and empathy when placed in leadership roles.

43. “The Three Laws of Performance: Future-based Language” at Survival Leadership

Part 3 of a 3-part series by Steve Gladis, Ph.D., this standalone blog post dissects semantics and points out the psychological element of speaking in the future tense.

44. “9 Tips on Handling and Eliminating Negative Stress” at Learn This

Although all leaders will inevitably experience some degree of stress in their lives, there are ways to reduce how it comes to negatively impact them and their employees.

45. “Avoiding dump trucks” at The Hungry Student Leader Blog

T.J. Sullivan may target the college population on his blog, but his advice on calmly preventing people from overloading and helping them come to their own conclusions can apply to almost anyone in a leader or mentorship role.

46. “Play big…lead by example” at Ed Gerety’s Dream Big! Blog

Both a blog post and a video, this useful resource by Ed Gerety reflects upon the style of leadership that motivates followers to emulate the productive, organized, positive, and functioning behavior they see in their superiors.

47. “A conversation about work/life balance” at Lindsey Pollack

One episode of the 30/20 Vision podcast focuses on maintaining a proper equilibrium between work life and real life – an issue that affects leaders and followers alike.

48. “There’s only one kind of supervisor: Imperfect” at The Student Affairs Collaborative

Leaders who can learn how to accept their flaws – but still work hard to fix them – approach the tasks at hand with far less anxiety that those who cannot.

49. “A New Leader” at Management Skills Blog

Tom Foster’s brief story centers around themes of initiative and the transition some team players experience the moment they become team leaders.

50. “How to be more Creative (Podcast and Toolkit)” at The Enlightened Manager Blog

Creativity is one of many necessary skills leaders must possess, and Cheri Baker provides readers with a few different valuable tools to nurture it.

51. “Dr. King: Rosa Parks on Role Models” at Women in the Lead Inspiration Blog

After completing this reading, women and men alike may find themselves left thinking about how their leadership skills may come to affect those under their guidance.

52. “My Advice, in Twenty Instructions” at Women on Business

Monica S. Flores relates 20 quick bits and bytes of advice that any leader – no matter their gender or gender identity – should keep in mind.

53. “Understanding the Leadership Contract” at Nina Lets It Out

Though leadership may not necessarily come with a literal contract, Nina Simosko points out that there are still some assumptions as to what is expected of individuals in these positions.

54. “Ask-A-Career Coach: Gratitude As A Career Management Tool” at The Glass Hammer

No matter one’s place on the corporate ladder, showing graciousness towards those who help achieve a goal is a an absolute necessity.

55. “Provide Context, Not Control” at Round Pegg

While leaders are expected to remain in control of situations and employees, Round Pegg, Inc. reminds them to not exert too much lest they become isolated or ineffectual.

56. “How To Gain Your First Loyal Follower” at Leadership Expert™

A leader cannot exactly qualify as a leader until he or she has earned the trust and respect of another individual willing to follow.

57. “Top Leadership Traits – Positive and negative” at RapidBI-Mgt, Leadership, Business Improvement Articles

Most articles focus on the good aspects of competent leaders, but some of the more common flaws that need contentious avoiding go overlooked.

58. “Five Reasons Why Leaders Fail (& Why Failures Lead)” at Rich Gee Group

All competent and worthy leaders should take care to remain humble, balanced, and open if they hope to succeed and remain in their positions.

59. “It’s Not My Fault – I’m Not Responsible” at First Friday Book Synopsis

Using the example of CEO Don Blankenship from Massey Energy Corporation, Randy Mayeux points out why effective leaders need to admit to their own mistakes and take responsibility for their actions.

60. “Growing and Retaining Productive Employees” at IMPACT Hiring Solutions Blog

Dave Kinnear details how business leaders can not only nurture and help their employees build upon their skills, but the best methods of insuring that they stick around.

61. “Contingency Planning” at N2Growth Blog

The best leaders possess an ability to display flexibility and foresight, and Mike Myatt extols the formulation of backup plans as a responsible move.

62. “How to lead when you’re not the boss…” at The Big Red Tomato Company

Not all leaders are necessarily bosses, but that does not mean they cannot display the same initiative, responsibility, and other positive traits.

63. “Leadership Energy” at Lead Change Group

Mike Henry, Sr. explores the link between a leader possessing character and being rewarded with positive, productive energy from his or her employees.

64. “7 Rules for Building a Kick-Ass Team” at BNET

Any leader hoping to put together an effective, productive team would do well to read this blog posting by Steve Tobak.

65. “Litmus Test for Leadership” at Mountain State University

It may require quite a bit of hard work and devotion, but Rebecca Robinson points out an MBA only goes so far when it comes to creating leaders.

66. “How We Might All Be Responsible for Bad Leadership” at Aspire Collaborative Solutions

When leaders fail, they frequently have themselves to blame. However, there are also many contributing external factors that allow this to happen as well.

67. “Figuring Out The Why” at Hard Court Lessons

Before embarking on any new project, leaders must consider both what they are to do and their motivations behind why the job needs to get done.

68. “Influence vs. Persuasion: A Critical Distinction for Leaders” at Saying What You Mean

Though occasionally used synonymously, Nicole De Falco looks into the semantic differences between the terms “influence” and “persuasion” and how they apply to leadership situations.

69. “Do introverts make better leaders” at Management Blog

Stereotype and popular assumption seem to dictate that leaders act with an outgoing, personable attitude, but more introverted types may actually prove more competent in situations where they must organize and guide people.

70. “Us vs. Them – Perspectives on leading change” at Emerging Leadership Circle

When change is needed in the workplace, leaders must step up and bridge gaps between those who work both beneath and above them.

71. “Permissions & Permission Giving in a Permissive Society” at Leadership Lessons from Triathlons

Enrico Varella reflects upon the way permission works in the world and the role patience plays in daily life.

72. “Tactics for Tough Times” at Top Executive Coaching with Tony Mayo

After speaking to 2 groups of business people in a coaching session, Tony Mayo wrote up the top 7 broad suggestions for leaders needing to weather rough financial climates.

73. “11 Things Project Managers & Leaders Should Never Do” at QAspire Blog

Keep TanmayVora’s extremely quick tips in mind whenever placed in a leadership role, remaining mindful of the potential damages that certain tactics can cause.

74. “Andy Stanley on Creating a Healthy Work Culture” at Church Relevance

Though the blog does veer towards Christian-oriented leadership, this posting provides some interesting pointers on invigorating leaders and followers of use to secular and religious settings alike.

75. “Manage Yourself, Manage Your Own Talent” at All Things Workplace

Steve Roesler advises readers to remain in control of their talents and find ways to make them known to those with the authorization to place them in leadership roles.

76. “Stop it! Just Stop it!” at The Lip-Sticking Blog

This little pep talk by Yvonne Divita tries to encourage readers to end with the procrastination and try to move closer towards their goals rather than finding contentment in complacency.

77. “120 Persuasive Words That Build Rapport (VAK)” at Persuasive.net

Build a vocabulary of terms that appeal to visual, auditory, and kinesthetic members of a project team in order to establish better relationships with all the separate parts.

78. “Are You A Confident Leader?” at Krishna De’s Biz Growth News

It always takes some degree of confidence to obtain and maintain a leadership position, though allowing it to swell to arrogance actively detracts from effectiveness and productivity.

79. “Who is your mentor?” at Lean Six Sigma Academy

Ron Pereira shares stories of the men and women who have guided him throughout his life and stimulated his leadership skills, asking readers to reflect upon their own influences and mentors.

80. “Leadership Tip: Which way is your belly button facing?” at CO2Partners

Body language, psychology, and their relationship to leadership gets explored in this interesting blog post, which opens with a rumination on bellybuttons.

81. “Anatomy of a Decision” at Directionally Correct

Although competent leaders must display flexibility and improvisation, they also have to know how to make informed decisions. This posting looks into everything one must consider before committing to choices that will affect others.

82. “The 4 Laws of Enduring Innovation Success” at The Complete Innovator

Obtaining success and keeping it are two entirely different concepts, and Boris Pluskowski shows what leaders can do to ensure that their victories remain victories.

83. “Three Levels of Empowerment” at Leadership and Management / Turning Adversity to Advantage

Empowerment is an odd, occasionally misunderstood emotion. But with this simple but effective listing, leaders can analyze what they are feeling and how they hope to understand and apply it.

84. “Involve Your Employees” at Eric Jacobson On Management And Leadership

Good leadership does not exist in a vacuum. The only way to achieve success is to ensure that all employees are properly engaged and appreciated.

85. “The Five Marks of Authenticity” at Michael Hyatt

CEO of Thomas Nelson publishers Michael Hyatt celebrates leaders who practice without artifice, listing the main virtues they exhibit.

86. “Leaders Caught in the Middle” at Leadership & Learning

Kevin Eikenberry understands that every leader will, at some point, find him- or herself stuck in a dispute between those above and those below. Here, he advises readers on how to keep a cool head and act responsibly when these situations arise.

87. “Beating the Donkey! 5 Leadership Lessons on Power” at Andrew P. Moore

Even the most mild-mannered and humble leaders may find themselves tempted to abuse their power every once in a while, but Andrew P. Moore’s level-headed tips and tricks can help anyone stay grounded.

88. “Servant Leadership Theory” at LeaderLab

All of LeaderLab’s articles on the various theories of leadership make for excellent reading, but this one stands out for suggesting that some of the best leaders are actually followers.

89. “7 Books That Made Me The Leader I Am Today” at Reflection Leadership

Current and future leaders hoping for a little literature in their lives would do well to look over Tom Glover’s recommendations, which provides a nice start in finding guidance and inspiration.

90. “How Leaders Can Create a Mindset for Growth” at Blanchard Leader Chat

Growth is generally one of the main goals of most leaders and their teams, and David Witt’s insightful article helps them learn how to establish the right frame of mind to accomplish this.

91. “Jerks, narcissists and psychopaths…oh my. When working for a lousy leader might pay off.” at Roundtable Talk

Sometimes, exposure to inadequate, ineffectual, or downright inhuman leaders is exactly what the good ones need to motivate themselves towards positive change and character development.

92. “2 Keys for Moving into an Executive Role” at JT Pederson

Leaders keeping their eye on the Holy Grail of career advancement ought to ponder a few different points mentioned in JT Pederson’s blog post.

93. “As Promised – Very Long Post on Managing Remote Teams” at Survive Your Promotion!

Flexible or telecommuting work environments present some unique challenges for those in leadership roles, but Katy at Survive Your Promotion! has some excellent pointers to help them navigate through the rough bits.

94. “Top 7 Social Media Links for Proactive Leaders” at The Bacharach Blog

Cornell professor Samuel Bacharach discusses his favorite social media outlets that he believes could nurture and facilitate leadership skills and techniques.

95. “Who Motivates the Motivator?” at Nicholls Leadership Institute

As many of the most pre-eminent leadership bloggers mention, leaders tasked with instilling devotion and drive into their followers not infrequently need someone to do so for them as well.

96. “Leading by Example” at Ravi Pratap Singh

Find inspiration in the story of Mahatma Gandhi, who garnered such an ardent following because he practiced exactly as he preached.

97. “7 ways to earn trust” at Results.com

All leaders need to keep Tony Vine’s advice in mind when it comes to establishing and keeping a trusting rapport with followers.

98. “Twenty Great Tips for Public Speaking” at The Business Blog at Intuitive.com

When that big presentation or meeting looms ahead, good leaders need to buckle down and learn how to speak clearly and confidently.

99. “Be impressed, not impressive” at John Maxwell on Leadership

Leaders should strive to inspire, but not necessarily impress everyone all the time. John Maxwell advises the mindset that hopes to be impressed instead works better.

100. “Saying No” at Execupundit.com

It is not always a good idea to become a “Go To Person,” because it could lead to an overloaded schedule and work of lesser quality.

Whether a seasoned business veteran or an eager greenhorn, these blog posts cover a wide spectrum of topics relevant to establishing improving upon the skills needed to become a better leader. Use them as a starting point to learn as much as possible when it comes to organizing, managing, and keeping a team together with integrity, reliability, and responsibility.