The Top 10 Leadership Skills People Are Choosing to Build

TL;DR: The top leadership skills in our data include communication, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, active listening, and public speaking and presentations. Our ranking draws on more than 20 months of GoSkills enrollment data, while wider workplace research helps explain why these skills matter for effective leadership.

AI may be changing the way we work, but when it comes to becoming a better leader, very human skills still take center stage.

So, which leadership skills are people actually choosing to build? To find out, we analyzed more than 25,000 course enrollments from over 20 months of GoSkills training data across Leadership & Management and Soft Skills courses.

Here’s what rose to the top: 10 core leadership skills with the strongest demand in our data. Let’s dig in!

What are leadership skills?

Leadership skills are the abilities that help you guide, motivate, and support people toward a common goal. Examples include communication, decision-making, emotional intelligence, delegation, and conflict resolution. These skills matter whether or not you hold a formal leadership role.

Most leadership skills are soft skills, focused on how you work with people rather than technical tasks. The encouraging part? You can build them through practice, feedback, and a willingness to keep growing.

Leadership skills also aren’t the same as leadership traits. Leadership traits describe who you are (curious, resilient, self-aware), while leadership skills describe what you can do (listen actively, delegate clearly, make sound decisions under pressure). Traits are the raw material. Skills are what you build with it.

Leadership skills vs. management skills

Leadership and management skills overlap, but they are not the same. Management skills keep work moving: planning, budgeting, scheduling, and tracking progress. Leadership skills move people: setting direction, building trust, motivating others, and developing your team.

You need both. Leadership creates commitment; management creates order. Understanding the difference between leadership vs. management can help you recognize which skills to draw on in different situations.

The 10 core leadership skills (ranked by actual demand)

We analyzed 25,090 course enrollments across 271 GoSkills Leadership & Management and Soft Skills courses, covering over 20 months of training data.

To rank the skills, we looked at which ones were associated with the courses learners accessed most often. This gave us a practical measure of demand within these two course categories. Wider workplace research adds context on why each skill matters for effective leadership.

Based on our analysis, the top 10 leadership skills are:

1. Communication
2. Emotional intelligence
3. Conflict resolution
4. Active listening
5. Public speaking and presentations
6. People and team management
7. Goal setting
8. Motivating and engaging your team
9. Decision-making
10. Giving feedback and coaching

1. Communication

You can have the best idea in the room, but leadership depends on being able to communicate it. Strong communication skills mean explaining ideas and expectations clearly, adapting your message to different people and situations, and listening just as carefully as you speak. After all, effective communication is a two-way street.

Communication becomes even more intentional when people aren’t working in the same place. Managing remote teams requires leaders to keep information flowing, set clear expectations, and create regular opportunities for both one-on-one and team communication.

Communication took the #1 spot in our analysis. More than 100 courses associated with the skill accounted for over 20,000 enrollments across the period we analyzed. The Communication Skills Basics course led the group, with nearly 1,700 enrollments. Learners also accessed the following courses:

• Business Writing Skills
• Remote Work Communication Skills
• Persuasion in Business Communication
• Writing Emails People Want to Read

“Direct vs. Indirect Communication” — Free lesson from the GoSkills Communication Skills Basics course

The importance of communication also shows up in leadership research. CCL includes communication in its Fundamental 4, the four core leadership skills it says leaders at every level need to master.

Want to communicate with more confidence? Start with the Communication Skills Basics course, which covers practical techniques for clear, confident workplace communication and stronger relationships.

2. Emotional intelligence

Leadership is about people, and people don’t leave their emotions at the door. Emotional intelligence (EQ) is the ability to recognize and manage your own emotions while understanding how others are feeling. For leaders, that can mean staying composed under pressure, showing empathy, reading the room, and responding in ways that build trust rather than erode it.

Emotional intelligence came in at #2. More than 40 courses associated with the skill accounted for over 11,000 enrollments across the period we analyzed. The Emotional Intelligence course led the group, with nearly 1,500 enrollments. Learners also turned to the following courses:

• Empathy: Your Secret to Working More Effectively
• Using Emotional Intelligence to Communicate with Empathy
• Using Emotional Intelligence to Tactfully Deliver Feedback

“Emotional Intelligence: What It Is and Why It Matters” — Free lesson from the GoSkills Emotional Intelligence course

Its importance is echoed in wider leadership research. Emotional intelligence was one of the most consistently recognized leadership skills across the sources we analyzed, with related capabilities such as empathy and self-awareness appearing across leadership frameworks and workplace research.

3. Conflict resolution

Conflict is inevitable when people work together, but effective leaders know how to navigate it constructively. Conflict resolution means listening to different perspectives, addressing disagreements, and finding a way forward while maintaining trust. Practical conflict management techniques can help leaders handle these conversations more effectively.

Conflict resolution emerged at #3 in our analysis. Twenty courses associated with the skill accounted for over 10,000 enrollments across the period we analyzed. The Conflict Resolution for Professionals course led the group, with more than 2,600 enrollments. Other conflict resolution courses included:

• Avoid Conflict Before It Starts
• How to Tactfully Facilitate Difficult Conversations
• How to Navigate Conflict in a Remote Workplace

“How to Identify and Resolve Workplace Conflict” — Free lesson from the GoSkills Conflict Resolution course

Our findings reflect a broader workplace trend. LinkedIn ranked conflict mitigation as the #2 fastest-growing skill in the U.S. in its Skills on the Rise 2025 report. Conflict resolution also appears in the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM) People Manager Qualification framework, while the Center for Creative Leadership (CCL) recognizes managing tensions as part of effective leadership.

Want to build this skill? The Conflict Resolution for Professionals course is free on GoSkills, and you can earn a CPD-accredited certificate when you complete it.

4. Active listening

Strong leaders don’t just communicate clearly. They also make people feel heard. Active listening means giving someone your full attention, asking thoughtful questions, and making sure you understand their perspective before responding. For leaders, that can help build trust, uncover concerns, and prevent misunderstandings before they grow into bigger problems.

At #4, active listening appeared across 25 courses that accounted for over 10,000 enrollments across the period we analyzed. The Listening Skills course led the group, with more than 850 enrollments. Other courses learners explored included:

• Leading Effective Meetings
• Become a Better Listener at Work
• A Manager’s Guide to Conducting Effective 1-on-1 Meetings
• Having More Memorable Conversations

“How to Improve Listening Skills: Stop Interrupting” — Free lesson from the GoSkills Listening Skills course

That makes active listening especially valuable in one-on-one conversations, feedback sessions, and conflict discussions, where understanding the full context can help leaders respond more thoughtfully.

5. Public speaking and presentations

Whether you’re presenting an idea, leading a meeting, or addressing your entire organization, how you deliver your message matters. Public speaking and presentation skills help leaders communicate with clarity and confidence, stay composed under pressure, and inspire trust when all eyes are on them.

Engaging an audience takes more than confidence. Starting strong, involving your audience, and keeping your delivery natural are a few practical tips for giving an engaging presentation. Leaders can also use storytelling techniques to make key messages more relatable, memorable, and easier for people to connect with.

Public speaking and presentations placed #5. More than 20 courses associated with the skill accounted for over 6,000 enrollments across the period we analyzed. The Body Language course led the group, with more than 1,100 enrollments. Learners also developed these skills through courses such as:

• Public Speaking
• Speaking Skills for Leaders
• Presentation Skills for Confident Public Speaking
• Storytelling for Speaking and Presentations

“How to Use Storytelling in Public Speaking” — Free lesson from the GoSkills Public Speaking course

6. People and team management

Managing people well is about more than keeping work on track. Strong people and team management means setting clear expectations, building trust, supporting people’s development, and giving team members the right balance of guidance and autonomy to do their best work.

Effective team building means creating an environment of mutual support, shared goals, clear communication, and shared purpose. Practical steps like setting clear team goals, meeting one-on-one with team members, and creating opportunities for open group discussion can help build that foundation.

People and team management ranked #6. Across 35 associated courses, the skill accounted for nearly 4,800 enrollments during the period we analyzed. The Team Leadership course led the group, with 900 enrollments.

Delegation is an important part of managing a team well. The Delegation Strategies for People Leaders course was another popular choice associated with this skill, with more than 300 enrollments. It offers practical strategies for delegating with confidence while building a stronger, more independent team.

“How to Improve Team Decision Making” — Free lesson from the GoSkills Team Leadership course

7. Goal setting

Good leadership starts with knowing where you’re going and helping others understand how to get there. Goal setting means turning priorities into clear, achievable outcomes, defining what success looks like, and giving people a sense of direction they can work toward.

Goal setting came in at #7, with 34 associated courses and more than 3,500 enrollments across the period we analyzed. The Goal Setting for Success course led the group, with more than 550 enrollments. Other relevant courses included:

• 10 Conversations Managers Should Have with Their Employees
• Performance Improvement Plans: A Leader’s Guide to Turning Things Around
• Creating a Culture of Performance

“Vague Goals vs. Specific Goals: How to Set Goals That Work” — Free lesson from the GoSkills Goal Setting course

Clear goals do more than provide a target. They help teams understand what matters most, connect individual responsibilities to broader organizational goals, and create a clearer basis for measuring progress and performance.

8. Motivating and engaging your team

Getting people to complete a task is one thing. Helping them want to do their best work is another. Leaders who can motivate others understand what drives different people and connect individual contributions to a bigger purpose.

Motivation isn’t one-size-fits-all. Recognizing good work, setting clear goals, developing people’s strengths, and creating opportunities to learn are all practical employee retention techniques that can help people feel valued, supported, and invested in their work.

Motivation techniques ranked #8. Just four courses were associated with the skill, accounting for just over 3,000 enrollments across the period we analyzed. The Motivate Your Team course was the only one specifically focused on motivation, with more than 300 enrollments. That makes this a more concentrated signal of learner interest than most of the skills higher in the ranking.

Introduction to the GoSkills Motivate Your Team course

There’s good reason to pay attention to this skill. SHRM research found that maintaining employee morale and motivation was a challenge for 50% of CHROs surveyed, making it the most commonly reported organizational talent challenge in its study.

9. Decision-making

Leadership comes with decisions, and they won’t always have an obvious right answer. Strong decision-making skills mean weighing the information you have, considering different perspectives and potential consequences, and making a sound call even when there’s uncertainty.

Decision-making ranked #9, appearing across 24 courses and nearly 3,000 enrollments during the period we analyzed. The Decision Making Strategies for Leaders course was the strongest dedicated course in this area, with nearly 200 enrollments. Other relevant courses included How to Generate and Prioritize Ideas and Enhancing Your Critical Thinking Skills.

Introduction to the GoSkills Decision Making Strategies for Leaders course

10. Giving feedback and coaching

Great leaders don’t just tell people what to do. They help them get better at what they do. Giving effective feedback means being clear about what’s working and what could improve, while coaching helps team members find solutions, build confidence, and develop their skills over time.

In practice, useful feedback is specific and actionable. Following a few dos and don’ts of constructive criticism, such as offering a potential solution, avoiding generalizations, and focusing on one issue at a time, can make difficult conversations clearer and more productive.

Coaching, meanwhile, starts with listening. Building trust and adapting your approach to each person are some of the keys to successful coaching, helping team members find their own solutions and take greater ownership of their development.

Giving feedback and coaching rounds out the top 10. Twenty-five courses associated with the skill accounted for nearly 2,800 enrollments across the period we analyzed. The Deliver Effective Criticism course led the group, with more than 1,700 enrollments. The group also included courses such as:

• Mentoring Essentials
• 10 Conversations Managers Should Have with Their Employees
• Coaching Performance for Your Team
• Coaching Skills for Leaders

“How to Give Constructive Feedback at Work” — Free lesson from the GoSkills Deliver Effective Criticism course

The broader research backs this up. People development and coaching showed some of the strongest consensus across the leadership sources we analyzed. SHRM found that 54% of HR executives identified coaching and mentoring as the top skills they wanted their people managers to develop.

Want to give feedback that helps people grow? The Deliver Effective Criticism course is free on GoSkills, so you can start building the skills to give focused, constructive feedback while maintaining trust and collaboration.

Emerging leadership skill: AI fluency

You don’t need to become an AI expert to lead in an AI-powered workplace. But leaders increasingly need enough AI fluency to understand what these tools can do, judge where they fit, and help their teams apply them thoughtfully.

Unlike the skills in our ranked top 10, AI fluency didn’t emerge from our Leadership & Management and Soft Skills course data, so it isn’t part of that ranking. Still, our broader AI course data shows growing activity as the catalog expands. Across 22 GoSkills AI courses, 2026 year-to-date enrollments are already about 15% higher than the total recorded in 2025. Most of that activity is concentrated in foundational, broadly applicable courses like:

• AI for Beginners
• Copilot for Microsoft 365 Applications
• From Prompt to Productivity with AI

That pattern suggests many learners are still building confidence with the fundamentals before moving into more strategic applications of AI. That’s a sensible place to start. Our guide to the best AI courses for beginners offers practical, non-technical starting points, from core AI concepts to prompt writing and responsible AI use.

The leadership case goes beyond knowing how to use the latest tools. Forbes describes AI fluency as an increasingly important leadership capability, built around the right toolset, skillset, and mindset. For leaders, that can mean bringing AI into strategic thinking, identifying where it adds value, creating psychological safety for experimentation, and helping teams integrate AI into everyday work.

Why leadership skills matter: what our data shows

One pattern stands out in our ranking: the skills learners are showing the strongest demand for are overwhelmingly people-centered. Communication, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, active listening, and public speaking and presentations make up the top five. Communication had the broadest support of all, appearing across more than 100 courses. Together, these skills point to a simple idea: effective leadership starts with understanding people, communicating clearly, and navigating conversations well.

The second half of the ranking shifts toward putting those interpersonal skills into action. People and team management, goal setting, motivation techniques, decision-making, and giving feedback and coaching are about setting direction, helping people perform, making sound choices, and supporting development. Taken together, our findings suggest that strong leadership isn’t built on one standout skill. It combines human connection with the ability to guide people toward shared goals.

That matters for organizations, too. Strong leadership can support performance, healthier workplace relationships, adaptability, and a pipeline of people ready to take on greater responsibility. The need to develop these capabilities also shows up in the GoSkills Upskilling Forecast: 28% of decision-makers seeking ready-made training identified leadership as a skill gap, making it the second most-requested area in the study.

That’s why leadership development is important at every career stage, not just after someone becomes a manager. Building these skills early gives people more opportunities to practice them before greater responsibility arrives.

How to develop leadership skills in the workplace

Leadership skills can be developed. Like any other skill, they get stronger through learning, practice, feedback, and repetition. Rather than trying to improve everything at once, focus on the areas that would make the biggest difference in your role right now.

Here’s a practical way to get started:

1. Identify the leadership skill you want to develop

Start by choosing one or two skills to focus on. Think about challenges you face regularly, feedback you’ve received, or situations where you feel less confident. Maybe you need to delegate more effectively, handle conflict better, or become more comfortable giving feedback.

Having a specific goal gives your leadership development direction and makes progress easier to put into practice.

2. Learn the fundamentals

Once you know what you want to improve, learn the frameworks and techniques behind it. A course, book, mentor, or other resource can give you practical strategies to apply instead of relying on trial and error alone.

If you prefer structured, bite-sized learning, GoSkills Leadership & Management and Soft Skills courses let you focus on in-demand leadership skills, learn through practical examples and exercises, and earn a certificate when you complete a course.

New to leadership training? Our leadership training guide is a good place to start, covering the basics of what leadership training involves and how to approach your own development.

3. Put what you learn into practice

Leadership skills grow when you use them, and your workplace gives you plenty of opportunities to practice. Look for ways to take more ownership or step beyond your usual responsibilities, whether that means leading a project, mentoring a colleague, presenting an idea, delegating a task, or helping solve a difficult problem.

Your work environment can also shape the skills you need most. Leading a remote or hybrid team, for example, puts greater emphasis on communication, trust, collaboration, and keeping people connected across locations.

You don’t need a formal leadership position to start. The goal is to practice the behaviors of an effective leader in the role you have today.

4. Ask for feedback and reflect

It can be difficult to judge your own leadership objectively, so invite feedback from people you trust. Ask a manager, colleague, mentor, or team member what you’re doing well and where you could improve.

Reflect on your own experiences, too. What worked? What would you handle differently next time? Turning everyday situations into learning opportunities can help build the self-awareness that effective leadership requires.

5. Keep practicing

Leadership development isn’t a one-time exercise. New responsibilities, people, and challenges will keep stretching your skills, so make learning an ongoing habit.

Keep practicing, asking for feedback, and adjusting your approach as you go. Over time, behaviors that once required conscious effort can become a more natural part of how you lead.

How to develop leadership skills in employees

Leadership development shouldn’t begin with a promotion. Organizations can start building leadership skills earlier by identifying potential, providing targeted training, creating opportunities to practice, and giving employees the feedback they need to keep growing.

1. Identify leadership potential early

Look beyond job titles for employees who show initiative, take ownership, communicate well, support others, or are ready to take on greater responsibility. Giving people opportunities to develop these abilities before they move into management can help build a stronger leadership pipeline.

2. Create targeted development plans

Leadership development isn’t one-size-fits-all. Focus training on the skills employees need for their current roles and the responsibilities they may take on next.

An aspiring manager, for example, might focus on communication, feedback, delegation, and conflict resolution, while a more experienced leader may need to strengthen coaching, change leadership, or executive presence.

Need help deciding what to teach at each stage? Explore 15 leadership development courses for building your leadership pipeline.

3. Make leadership training easy to access

Once you know which skills employees need, make learning easy to find and follow. A learning management system (LMS) can help you organize leadership training, assign relevant courses and learning paths, automate reminders, and track progress in one place.

With the GoSkills LMS, organizations can organize learners into teams and deliver structured training using GoSkills’ ready-made course library or their own custom content. This makes it easier to tailor development to different roles, teams, and leadership goals.

4. Give employees opportunities to practice

Learning about leadership is only part of the process. Employees also need opportunities to apply what they learn through mentoring, coaching, stretch assignments, project leadership, decision-making, and everyday workplace situations.

Organizations can also build practice directly into their custom training. The GoSkills Course Builder includes Genie, an AI-powered course creation assistant, as well as Scenario blocks that let learners practice realistic situations through AI-powered Q&A or roleplay. That could mean rehearsing how to give feedback, navigate conflict, or handle a difficult conversation before facing a similar situation on the job.

5. Give feedback and track progress

Leadership development takes time, so give employees regular feedback on what they’re doing well and where they can improve. Encourage managers, mentors, and employees themselves to reflect on progress and identify what to work on next.

Tracking learning and development over time can also help organizations see where employees are progressing and where additional support may be needed. As roles and responsibilities evolve, development plans can evolve with them.

How can I improve my leadership skills as a new manager?

Leading a team for the first time can be a big shift. Suddenly, success isn’t only about doing your own work well. You’re also responsible for setting expectations, giving feedback, delegating effectively, motivating others, and helping your team perform at its best.

You don’t need to master every leadership skill at once. Start with the situations you’re likely to face most often: communicating clearly with your team, listening to different perspectives, giving constructive feedback, delegating work, handling conflict, and supporting people’s development. Our new manager training guide goes deeper into the skills first-time managers need and the courses that can help you build them.

You can also keep building your confidence one skill at a time. If you’re looking for an accessible place to start, explore these free leadership and management courses, covering foundational topics you can learn at your own pace.

Frequently asked questions about leadership skills

1. What are examples of leadership skills?

Examples of leadership skills include communication, emotional intelligence, conflict resolution, active listening, public speaking and presentation skills, people and team management, goal setting, motivation techniques, decision-making, and giving feedback and coaching.

These examples reflect more than 20 months of GoSkills enrollment data. AI fluency is also emerging as an important leadership capability, although it sits outside our data-driven top 10.

2. What is a good leadership course for beginners?

If you’re looking for comprehensive, beginner-friendly training, GoSkills’ Leadership Training course is designed for learners with no prior experience. Across 21 lessons, you’ll explore different leadership styles and practical topics such as understanding and motivating your team, setting clear goals, overcoming challenges, and strengthening teamwork. You’ll also earn a CPD-accredited certificate upon completion.

3. How can you demonstrate leadership skills at work?

You don’t need a management title to demonstrate leadership. Taking ownership, following through on commitments, supporting colleagues, solving problems, mentoring others, and stepping up when a project needs direction can all show leadership in action.

When describing your leadership skills in a resume, interview, performance review, or promotion case, focus on specific examples and results. Explain what you did, how you approached the situation, and what changed as a result.

4. What makes someone an effective leader?

Effective leaders adapt to the people and situations around them. They communicate clearly, listen to different perspectives, make sound decisions, build trust, give useful feedback, and help others do their best work.

No leader will be equally strong in every area. Self-awareness helps you recognize your strengths, identify where you need to improve, and adjust your approach as your team and responsibilities evolve.

5. How can organizations develop leadership skills across their teams?

Organizations can develop leadership skills by combining structured training with opportunities to apply them at work. Leadership courses and learning paths can be paired with coaching, mentoring, stretch assignments, project leadership, and regular feedback.

An LMS can make leadership development easier to deliver at scale. With the GoSkills LMS, organizations can assign training and learning paths to different teams, automate reminders, track progress, and combine a ready-made course library with custom training.

One leadership skill at a time. Your next one starts here.

Great leadership isn’t about mastering everything on this list at once. It’s about recognizing what the people and situations around you need, building the skills to respond, and continuing to learn as your responsibilities grow.

Start with one skill and put it into practice. Whether that means navigating your next difficult conversation, delegating more effectively, listening more carefully, or getting more comfortable with AI, every step helps you grow into a more confident, capable leader.

Ready to keep learning? Explore GoSkills Leadership & Management courses and find the right skill to work on next.