A timeless debate like the age-old controversy
about “a chicken and an egg” is more or less applicable also to the question
whether leaders are born or made. In the most texts I've so far read the
prevalent answer is: a leader is born.
Personally, I’m more for a kind of the
in-between position: early genetics shown in childhood is an imprint that is
hard to undo. Later, learning and practice bring new qualities and dimensions
to leadership. Statistically, leadership capability will definitively fall
along the Gaussian distribution. Some
people are, indeed, born leaders but they still need a lot of work and learning
to become true leaders and to get even better as they go along. At the bottom
of the curve there are others who, no matter how hard they try, simply aren't
ever going to be leaders. They just
don’t have the innate wiring. All in between start out with a very good
prerequisites and are hard workers and learners but mostly never become
outstanding leaders.
It may be true that some people feel more
inclined and are better prepared to take on leadership roles and then
consequently learn and develop the necessary skills to become a superior
leader. Certain basics of good leadership can be self-taught, but a number of useful
skills will be acquired through experience developed over a time. Understanding
leadership functions is important to develop skills and capabilities to then
achieve a successful leadership style matching one’s own character and talents.
Therefore, modern theories about leadership involve a combination of
personality traits and also specific skills, capabilities learned over time and
gained through experience. It is rather a life learning process and not a
semester at an MBA school.
The critical leadership ability is to be able to
“connect with people” and this one should not be underscored. This brings up
the discussion around the question of whether communication and relationship
skills are inherent or learned. It is a leadership role to engage people they
lead, to secure their commitment and to gain their trust. But for this a leader
needs to hear and not only to listen what others have to say. I am a huge fan
of the power of hearing.
Next in a row of leadership considerations is how a leader copes with feedback (described in my previous blog). Does he invite, initiate or oppose it. I believe leadership is about dealing with energy, first the energy in yourself and then in those around you. How a leader absorbs and accepts it. For this a great leader should pose a question to him(her)self: What are my actual strengths and weaknesses, both as a leader and as a person? What impact do I have on others? What is my moral and cultural compass and do I use it as a guidance system? How closely do my action(s) line up with promises? Last but not least, how these mindsets not only help during a crisis but how they inevitably help to avoid crises.
And again we come to the question: Are leaders
born or are they made? I believe that the best leaders have some preconditions
but they learn to lead. Feedback - they appreciate the value of honesty and
trust (described in my previous blog). Listen and hear - they seek to understand and be understood. And they
know that communicating and relating well with people are the only ways to
achieve such a capacity of leadership that endures.
Jaro, you are absolutely right. Some people have a precondition that allows them to acquire, grasp and sharpen other abilities and skills.
ReplyDeleteHowever, what we disagree on is the one (or perhaps a few more that I don't know of) ability that leaders have within themselves and cannot be learned or acquired in any classroom or life situation. That ability or characteristic rather, is having courage (or being courageous). Courage cannot be taught. People have them or they don't. The courage to take risks, to take charge, to lead, to envision, to walk on unchartered grounds.
People can be taught to have social and interactive skills. They can be taught to communicate. They can be taught to be humble and respectful (even if by a force of nature). They can be taught to think vividly or rationally or differently. They can be given a personality and develop a charm. They can learn to be more knowledgeable and trained to have more experience than others.
But if they don't have the courage to take that first step, to answer either their own or others' calling, to take a stand, to lead, none of the others skills and qualities and abilities matter.
It's a great question and people will always debate about it. Perhaps blindly. But you did bring out the key point and that's the answer to the question - preconditions! Great post! Cheers.
Thank you Ravi for your great comment and descriptive explanation.
DeleteI like it although, I have a small reservation about one thing you named "courage" to be the (key) issue. Why?
well, the best way to describe this "disagreement" is to point to my previous blog "Leadership and stability" at: http://leadershipbyvirtue.blogspot.com/2013/05/leadership-and-stability.html
to my mind, leaders are made, it tooks a lot of time, but it works! http://skywritingservice.com/blog/how-to-become-successful-leader-15-tips will help you in leadership mastering!
ReplyDeleteFrederick Guyton thank you for your comment.
DeleteA good leader is one that is a role model for others – one that everyone would like to follow. Leaders must have complete knowledge about their fields and should be respectful.
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Prescilla Priyanka thank you for your comment.
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