Book excerpt: Are you ready for your moment to lead? This fresh and insightful book will help you identify your innate leadership traits and naturally develop vital leadership skills. Through simple but effective steps, you will grow to take on richly satisfying roles in the working world and in the community, and become a leader who is trusted and respected by others. The book explores the natural, organic ways of recognizing and developing personal leadership traits in oneself. The first half of the book focuses on honest and reflective self-assessment for strengths and potential abilities to develop as a leader. The second half of the book deals with personal limitations by helping readers to use everyday abilities and situations that can help them to become good leaders who can be trusted. Anyone who believes they have the potential to lead others can benefit from this book. Instead of or in addition to earning an MBA at an expensive university, readers can learn the basic practices of effective managers who can identify a need and utilize (or locate) the resources needed to address it. Current leadership books on the market emphasize a series of personal qualities or professional duties that can prepare a person to lead. Some books are oriented to an empathic approach to leadership while others discuss strategies like competition, teamwork, or motivation. This book encourages readers to take a personal and natural approach to evaluating their leadership interests, abilities, and goals. Instead of adopting others’ ideas of leadership, the chapters herein teach readers how to become their own self-guide to become the leader they want to be. Based on the information provided in this book by the author’s insight and experience along with contemporary business research, readers will receive information about the following: • Essential leadership skills • Self-assessment tools for recognizing leadership skills or potential • Current research from leading industry publications • The importance of character and the role of ethics in leadership • Pitfalls to avoid when assuming a leadership role • Becoming the leader that you want to be – naturally