Leaders:born or made?While there is a very simple answer to this question,most people are so entrenched in their beliefs no amount of reason or logic will alter their opinions.But that’s never stopped me before… For my part,I would actually like to make an attempt at putting this useless debate to bed once and for all. So, what’s theanswer?Both – some people are born with innate qualities that predispose them to be leaders, and other people, while not naturally gifted with leadership ability can acquire it. Moreover, all leaders, born or made, can improve their ability with desire, experience, and effort.
If we’re to be honest with ourselves, as opposed to defending a particular position to suit our needs, we’ve all known born leaders… They are those affable individuals who possess charisma and presence, combined with the ability to make good decisions – people have flocked to them from an early age.
They were your class presidents,team captains, club leaders, and the people who held virtually all the available leadership positions you can imagineearly in life. They were those unflappable individuals who seemed to just have that “it”factor. They were the born leaders we all grew up with.
Before we move on, and as a caution to those who are natural leaders, the natural ability will only take you so far. Leaders who rest on their laurels without making the effort to develop their skills will eventually be overtaken by those who view leadership as a professional skill to be developed and refined. As the old saying goes, “it’s not what you’ve been given, but what you do with it that matters.” Every person has to decide for themselves whether they’ll be an underachiever or a person who excels, and since you’ll be judged for your choice, my suggestion would be to choose wisely.
Moving on, we’ve all also knownindividuals whowhile perhaps not naturally giftedleaders, either fell into, or accepted leadership responsibility, and workeddiligently todevelop themselves into highly effective leaders. Leadership acumen can most certainly be taught, and it can also be ingrained in those willing to put forth the effort to learn.
You see, the only things that keep someone from becoming a sound leader are a lack of character, effort, and desire. If those three qualities are present, everything else can be developed. I’ve personally witnessed the shy and introverted develop presence, the greedy become giving, the arrogant develop an authentic sense of humility, the foolish become discerning and wise, people who struggled with decision making learn solid decisioning skills, individuals who lacked domain expertise acquire it, people who were egocentric transition into servant leaders, and the list could go on…
Bottom line: It is not how a leader comes by their skill that is relevant. Itonly matters they possess the requisite skills for the job, and that they are willing to applythose skillsfor the benefit of those they lead. Remember, there is no perfect leader, no single right way to lead,and no one-size-fits-all formulafor leadership. Let’s stop wasting time debating whether leaders are born or made, and focus onhow to help them bebetter leaders regardless of how they arrived.
If you have an opinion on the bornvs. made argument I welcome you toshare your thoughts inthe comments below…
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