Which of the following positions will you side with and what will you say in its support: (a) True leaders are born not made OR (b) great leaders are made, not born .
Here is some background: According to Great Man Theory, true leaders are born not made. such leaders inherit the ability to rise to the occasion when needed.
The Behavioral Leadership theory/approach Hypothesized that great leaders are made, not born. This theory focuses on actions of leaders not on personalities or characteristics. Such leaders are prepared through proper leadership training, observation, teaching and experience.
I believe that people can become leaders through the process of teaching, learning and observation.
I will reveal my bias right away. I believe leaders can emerge through training, experience, observation.
I think it is a combinationation of nurture and nature. If I was to pick one, I will side with the Behavioral Leadership Theory. The Great Man Theory draws its strengths from example of natural born leaders such as Mahatma Gandhi, Mao Tse Tung, Kamal Ataturk, Abraham Lincoln, General de Gaulle, but has no explanation as to why these men became same leaders. This theory also has a gender-bias.
I somewhat support the Behavioural theory in this regard. Leadership is a set of skills that can be learned by training, perception, practice and experience over time. Leadership learning is lifetime activity. As legendary American football coach Vince Lombardi once said: “Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work.”
In his newest book, Leading the Life You Want, Friedman explores the skills you need to be a leader, how to develop them, and how to devote your life to your work without losing everything that's important to you. His research has led him to conclude that people are not born to be great leaders.
According to Warren G. Bennis, "The most dangerous leadership myth is that leaders are born -- that there is a genetic factor to leadership...That's nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true. Leaders are made rather than born." (Bennis).
Successful leaders are trained so that they can master the abilities and features of real leaders.
In my opinion, leadership is an art and not a science. It is a collection of innate, select and excellent qualities acquired over time with education, training and experience. There is also an important aspect to it: being in the right place at the right time. Because of getting used to your presence or not being in the position through which you can shine your talents.
It is a well-known question. The answers of the specialists differed widely. Some stressed that leadership is an innate gift possessed by a certain group of people. "Leadership cannot be learned, leadership is personal and wisdom, two things you can not learn," said Warren Bennis. Others emphasized that leadership is an art that can be acquired by learning and practice, "No human being was born as a leader, and there is no human being compounded internally as a leader." said Warren Black.
Leaders can be born or made. The two categories are not mutually exclusive. It goes back to the arguments of hereditary vs. environment. It is possible that a person may be born into a family of leaders and hence inculcated to be one since they may already possess some of the innate qualities of leadership. On the other hand a person who may not be born into privilege can rise up the ranks, learning in the process the fundamentals of leadership and become a good leader.
They need not be born leaders. People can cultivate Leadership Skills.
Great Man theory and Trait theories believe that people inherit certain qualities and traits that make them better suited to leadership.
There are certain inborn characteristics that predispose people to be and become leaders. There is a significant difference between “learning a skill” and mastering one, in the same way that others are born with amazing musical gifts or athletic talents. They will excel naturally in these areas but others would be like a fish out of water and may struggle to get to the same point.
They are born with the potential to be leaders and trained to unleash this potential.
Leaders are born as life from early days they have their visualization to carry out the mission of their life . It is in this line sometime back I have my publication under the captioned '' Leaders - A social Magnet '' which I submit herewith for your perusal with a request to offer your valuable opinion
Thanks
What a great collection of perspectives, thank you, Muhammad Younas , Hazim Al Dilaimy , Zainab A Makawi , Houda Kawas , Isam Issa OmranIsam Issa Omran .
“If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.” - John Quincy Adams
http://insights.jmw.com/blog/leaders-are-born-not-made-and-other-popular-myths
اعتقد ان القادة يصنعون لكن ليس فقط عن طريق التدريب واكتساب المهارات والخبرة والملاحظة ولكن منذ الولادة عندما يتم بناء شخصيته ووضع القدوه أمامه وسرد القصص حتى الكاذبه منها واملائه بالثقة من قبل ذويه واستمرارا إلى أن يكبر
I believe that leaders do, but not only through training, skills, experience and observation, but from birth when their personality is built, their character is placed in front of them, stories are recounted, even the false ones are counted and trusted by their families and continued to grow.
Hello, Leadership is a Trait that is learned. Right from childhood this characteristic is nurtured and cherished through reinforcements (positive & negative). Eventually gets exposed during crises or otherwise sublime. Great knowledges also can initiate leadership!
Hello, Leadership is a Trait that is learned. Right from childhood this characteristic is nurtured and cherished through reinforcements (positive & negative). Eventually gets exposed during crises or otherwise sublime. Great knowledges also can initiate leadership!
Of course, leaders are always made through training and education
I choose the option (b) great leaders are made, not born
Regards
I believe that people can become leaders through the process of teaching, learning and observation.
Behavioral Theories believe that people can become leaders through the process of teaching, learning and observation. Leadership is a set of skills that can be learned by training, perception, practice and experience over time.
@ Dr. Gulzar Shah Sir
Please also have a look at these old RG discussion threads.
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Leaders_are_born_not_made_or_leaders_are_made_not_born
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Do_You_think_that_leaders_are_born_or_made_or_its_both
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Are_leaders_born_or_made
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Are_leaders_born_or_made2
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Are_leaders_born_leaders_or_they_acquire_leadership_by_time
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Is_leadership_born_or_acquired
Thanks!
Well Prof Shah , I also think (b) , it is really really difficult to be a leader . One who is objective and will not base his/her judgements with a personal bias , this takes a lot of courage and patience !!!!
Born ?? all of us a are born with good vs evil understanding I believe , but to exercise it in the long run makes the difference !!!
Nope little thru education and training but lotzzzzzzz thru experience and resilience ...
I believe that great leaders are seen when there are great issues to deal with
Mainly, great leaders are made, and the born has role in the making of great leader.
And we're back to the nature vs nurture issue. There are many variables involved in becoming a great leader. Social skills are of course key, which are themselves affected by genetics and environment. But people also tend to listen to those who are taller, at least wrt men. So a person with a genetic predisposition towards short stature are going to be at a disadvantage. But many work hard to overcome this limitation.
Then of course there's money. People with money are more likely to get someone's attention. Someone who grew up in a nice house is more likely to have a lot of social connections. But that also depends on how their home compares to the ones around them. If you're in a low income area, then having a small home that's not in great condition isn't going to affect your ability to make social connections in childhood as much as it would if you were growing up in a relatively affluent neighborhood.
Both of them. They are born with strong personalities and at the same time their experiences enhanced them.
Leaders are born with leadership traits and training is only meant to improve these leadership skills. This means that in order to make a good leader, a person needs to be born with basic leadership traits. These basic traits are then improved through experience or learning.
Stephen I. Ternyik brings Moses (Moshe Rabbeinu) into the discussion. We Jews are taught stories of how the man bravely lead the Jews out of Egypt. We can say that it must have been born into him (a quirk of his DNA), but if this story is at all true, his ability for leadership was tied to the culture/home that he grew up in. He was a Jew by blood, but raised to view himself as a member of the "ruling" class.
There might have been a chromosomal link to his fierce behavior. It has been noticed that things such as "malignant narcissism" and having "short tempers" (prone to violence), can be the result of physical problems as well, such as genetics and brain injury.
All of this being digested does not change the fact that "narcissists" are sought after to be CEOs in the developed countries (Chamorro-Premuzic, T., 2016). No matter what influences create them, we humans seem to need them to take the reins, and become our "leaders."
Children who are named Moshe (Moses) are thought to be appropriately named if they happen to grow up as short-tempered and difficult to control. I remember being a governess to a rabbis family who had a rather violent son named Moshe; I had to make sure he wouldn't hit any of his siblings. I also named my son Moshe when he was only 4 months old, still in my belly, and attempting to kick his way out of me.
The hope is that these "leaders" will be able to use their negative sides for the ethical treatment of the less powerful (but not as violent) majority of people. But it is interesting that we are supposed to be "above" them mentally, we are still exploiting their weaknesses: the Tribe of Yisrael was able to "use" Moshe Rabbeinu to help us escape Egypt, but he was denied entry to the "Promised Land", whereas, we "little people" weren't.
There are stories that this happened because Moshe struck a rock to give us water, and he mistakenly took credit for this; saying that he was now giving us water (not G-d).
So Moshe's narcissism helped us get to the Promised Land, but that same narcissism didn't allow him access.
shalom! - Juju. (Julia Schenzinger)
Chamorro-Premuzic, T. (2016). Why We Keep Hiring Narcissistic CEOs. Harvard Business Review: Leadership. Retrieved from: https://hbr.org/2016/11/why-we-keep-hiring-narcissistic-ceos
Believe every is a combination of both genetic + environment. Leaders are both made nature and nature.
I think it can applies to both theories but not on equal bases. I would allocate 20 % to (a) and 80% to (b) as leadership mainly would be acquired through learning, experience and hardworking
Leaders come in many shapes and sizes. There are very few characteristics that predict leadership potential. Research has found that people who are adjusted, social, ambitious, and curious are more likely to become leaders. Whilst IQ contributed less than 5% to the likelihood that someone would emerge as a leader.
Leadership behaviours like any other human practice is a combination of genetic and environmental factors. And whilst some people may be born with leadership qualities, research suggests anywhere between 30% – 60%, most leadership behaviors are developed over time. At its core leadership consists of a set of skills and behaviours that can be learnt.
Dear colleagues, I am blessed to have beautiful set of responses, Srini Vasan , Emmanuel Vijayanand Murray , Maham Muzamil , Fateh Boutekkouk
Mohammad Mehdizadeh , Wahag Abass .
Like genius, leaders are born.
You can't learn to compose like Beethoven, and you can't learn to be Aleksandar The Great, Napoleon the 1st or Jesus.
What makes them great?
They fulfill what they promise!
(b) great leaders are made, not born
Civil Rights Movement - Martin Luther King, Jr., Malcolm X, Rosa Parks
Apartheid - Nelson Mandela, Winnie Mandela etc.
Indian Independence Movement - Mahatma Gandhi
American Civil War - Abraham Lincoln
American Revolution - George Washington
Humanitarian Charity Work - Diana, Princess of Wales
I think everyone can be a leader. The difference between these individuals and others during their time, is that they rose to the challenge.
Are great leaders born not made? Maybe.
What is the difference between talent and skill? Someone can be born with the natural aptitude (talent) for leadership, but without hard work to improve, the person cannot be a great leader.
Through hard work, skill is developed. Everyone has the capacity to work hard, everyone has the capacity to develop leadership skill.
Most importantly, what made these great leaders mentioned above and others like them is a combination of hard work, timing, location and courage.
Regards
“The separation of talent and skill is one of the greatest misunderstood concepts for people who are trying to excel, who have dreams, who want to do things. Talent you have naturally. Skill is only developed by hours and hours and hours of beating on your craft." - Will Smith.
First, the definition of "great leader" is vague. The leadership can be multifaceted.
One of my follow-up studies is to determine how the optimal nurse staffing levels change by type of leadership. I guess that an authoritarian leadership will need more nurses to produce the same level of patient outcomes, compared to a relationship focused leadership. The study results will impact to the leadership practice. Probably, stakeholders will want to hire (and train) a candidate having the best leardership type to achieve the maximum efficiency. Here, we can know that we do not know which type of leadership could be considered as "great."
Great leaders are recognized by others and elevated and sold to others as a leader and the sale is successful.
First, leadership is a way of life; not a position. We should not wait for a specific position; to show our skills. Secondly; we are born with the spirit of a leader but ; as long as we keep learning; we will improve our leadership skills.
Leaders can be made or born BUT great leaders are born! It is in the genes.
Proper genetic management for merriage is required for quality leadership. Yes I agree that It depends on genes. Some time due to unjustified behaviour of any particular agency or institute leaders emerged.
Thank you dear colleagues for sharing your insights, Hemin Vardhilal Thakkar , Mohd Rafi mohd solleh , Hemin Vardhilal Thakkar , Zin Eddine Dadach
I think every person has got leadership quality. It is the external factors that work to enhance leadership ability and capability to make a person a leader or great leader. Such external factors are education, training, experience, brought up and provided opportunities.
Sulafah Abdul Salam Alnamer , Aparna Sathya Murthy , Claire Su-Yeon Park , thank you for contributing to this discussion.
I was born leader, but I didn't know that until people made me realize that you are our leader, I was surprised to listen the word leader for me , because I don't think myself as leader, I know I am deficient person at many fronts, but only quality, I can see that made people to call me leader, my honesty, sincerety, care, sacrifice, struggle for cause, for them( I still believe that I am not a leader, I just wanted to be an ordinary person that wanted to live happily ever after; but that didn't happen, I have to walk on the path of hardships, for my people, the path destined for me).
Moral of the story: Leaders are born, then made, trained, educated, transformed.
Few persons are born leaders. To be a great leader leader, constant learning, continuous practice and improvement of skill sets required for being a leader is important. So, a person can be a great leader by improving the leadership skills mentioned above.
It can go either way. However, leaders are a creation of circumstances and several conditions.
In my view, the common situation combine elements from the two theories. Because true and great leader need to inherit leadership attributes as well as training and cumulative experiences. It could be very rare to have all attributes of true or great leadership based on either of the two theories.
Dear Hazim Al Dilaimy , thank you sir for adding your thoughts to this discussion string.
A bud of a rose develops to a nice rose after getting proper environment.
A person with good leadership qualities should be added with proper education (academic and social), familiarity with the people of all sections of the society to become an actual leader.
So, actual leaders are born as well as made.
Thanks.
Shibabrata Pattanayak , Ben Levin
:Very convincing arguments, both highlighting the value of "nurture" more than nature. Thanks for contributing to this discussion.
Yes, I also agree with that submission by Drs. Shibabrata Pattanayak and Ben Levin.
Dear Dr.@ Gulzar Shah ,Thank you for nice question.
Science in people is two types: stable, and transitional or acquisition.
transitional or acquisition science: is the one that comes through learning, education, and experience, which increases or decreases with the stages of life and health.
As for the stable science: is the one that comes with the birth, from God. It is a constant that does not lack with age and does not increase by experiences.
I agree with you, dear Dr. Gulzar Shah , that the world leader is the one who is born, and who has stable sciences. The local leaders whom we see in our lives are made with time (by transitional or acquisition science).
Best regards.
Dear Oluwaseun A. Otekunrin , and Shaden M H Mubarak , thank you for adding your perspectives.
Dear Dr. Hawa El-Shareif, I like the way you explained the two types, without picking one. If you were to pick one explanation, which one will you go for?
A successful leader possesses a culture of leadership, and his culture is not born but comes by learning
Dear Firas Saadallah , thank you sir for expressing your valuable opinions.
- Dear Salem Elsheltat , Alaa Raheem Kazim thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Dear colleague Karen A. Darbinyan , Maham Muzamil , Wahag Abass , Luay Abdulwahid Shihab , thank you for beautiful posts in this discussion string.
First, everybody must be born .Every human been carries a genetic map about the psychological and development of its future ,leader first born ,if he/she had the genetic and the psychological environment internally and externally , and the most important think the ability of innovation .your project more specify of the leader ship criteria
This is a interesting question. based on my personal opinion and limited understanding. A Great Leader is in tune with the dreams and aspirations of other people. Great leaders usually have the gift of oratory. They inspire people to be their better self. They reach into people's hearts and inspire passion within them to go forward and be great themselves.
Dear Mohammed H. Musleh , Magdy abdhaffi Boukhatwa , I greatly appreciate your participation in and contributions to this discussion.
Yes, because such a man has instinct as a leader strengthened and supported by learning and perseverance and patience and help others and has faith in the cause that seeks for it
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