In the years during which these skills of leadership have been explored by the Boy Scouts of America, much research has taken place in the behavioral sciences. As a result, these skills have been brought up to date to agree with current thinking and application. As training programs are revised, the approach to leadership skills will be slightly modified to overcome these concerns. Thus, the leadership process is a function of the leader, the follower, the goals, and the situation at the time. It is active, exerts influence, requires effort, and is related to goals.
Leadership skills become the vehicle by which the leader achieves given objectives.
Leadership is the active and dynamic process of applying those leadership skills called for in given situations. Any musician knows that an individual part in an orchestral work can sound strange if played alone. It is only when an instrument's part is blended with the other instruments in the orchestra that the beauty of the symphony or sonata emerges. The same can be said for each of the individual skills of leadership. Each functions well only when combined with the others to produce an effective leadership style.