Mon, Aug 8, 2011
Learning Leadership: Are Leaders Born or Made?
Posted by Dr. Daniel Crosby
“Are leaders born or made?” It’s a simple enough question but one that has huge implications for the way organizations set about finding and developing (or not developing) talent.
After all, the very existence of coaching and development programs assumes that leaders can positively impact their performance through education. Otherwise, organizations should work to hire exceptional leaders and let their natural talent play itself out.
America is a land of leadership fanatics. We etch our Presidents’ faces into the sides of mountains and put their likeness on our currency. We pay leaders in the sports arena triple digit multiples of what the rest of us make and look to them for moral guidance, often with disappointing results. Business leaders like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, and Steve Jobs become household names whose behaviors are studied and become “best practices” post-hoc.
Our glorification of these leaders, while problematic in some respects, rests on the assumption that they have lived their lives and made choices that are extraordinary and that they should be recognized as such.
But would they deserve the same praise if they had been “born that way?”
Leadership and Meaning
On her second birthday, I took my daughter to Build-A-Bear to well, you know, build a bear. After choosing her panda (“This panda loves me daddy!”), we began the process of stuffing and eventually sewing up the little plush toy. As part of the process, she placed a small felt heart and a recorded message inside that says, “I love you” when you depress the bear’s stomach.
Now, I can press Panda’s stomach and hear those three little words whenever I’d like. I know that without a doubt, if I press her stomach, she will tell me that she loves me – she was born that way.
My daughter also tells me that she loves me, but is far less consistent in how she goes about it. In fact, in addition to her frequent expressions of love, she has also told me on occasion that I smell bad, have a pimple, and that she does not like me.
So, if the words are the same coming from either source, why does it warm my heart when it comes from my little girl and mean nothing from a bear? The thing that makes action meaningful is that it is chosen from a host of other, often opposite, choices.
Choosing Leadership
Viktor Frankl, Holocaust survivor and renowned Austrian psychiatrist said it best, “Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In that response lies our growth and freedom.” Some may say that leaders are born; that they come into the world with everything they need to be great.
If that is the case, I see nothing laudable about leadership. They are living out their destiny in much the same way that Panda is, doing what they were programmed to do. I think that leaders are made. I think that there is a leader within each of us, and that we can all be great in our own sphere.
I also think that we can choose to be lazy, bigoted, hateful, and thwart our growth through our own indifference. That we are capable of both great leadership and great waste is what makes choosing to be a great leader so very special.
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About the Author
Dr. Daniel Crosby is an organizational psychologist and President of IncBlot, a consultancy that helps businesses select and develop exceptional talent. You can follow Daniel on Twitter @incblot.9 Responses to “Learning Leadership: Are Leaders Born or Made?”
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- - 15. Aug, 2011
[...] Leader, unlike a ‘manager,’ isn’t a title on an org chart: it’s a skill that can manifest itself across all levels of the organization – from the front line employee making direct contact [...]
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0 - - 19. Aug, 2011
[...] great leadership and great waste is what makes choosing to be a great leader so very special. – Originally posted on MonsterThinking by Dr. Daniel Crosby Monster is the premier global online employment solution for people seeking jobs and for employers [...]
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0 0 - - 19. Aug, 2011
[...] I also think that we can choose to be lazy, bigoted, hateful, and thwart our growth through our own indifference. That we are capable of both great leadership and great waste is what makes choosing to be a great leader so very special. – Originally posted on MonsterThinking by Dr. Daniel Crosby [...]
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0 0 - - 31. Aug, 2011
[...] of the earliest theories, the “Great Man” theory, emphasized the role of a very small cadre of charismatic men in shaping history. This theory is [...]
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August 8, 2011 at 11:16 AM
Great article and darling photo of your daughter! I also believe we can choose our reactions to things and that it is in these choices that we develop our character. Thanks for your insight!
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August 8, 2011 at 3:30 PM
As a student of existential coaching*, I could not agree more with your application of Dr. Frankl’s observations to leadership. We are now a sum of past choices, and will become what we choose in the future.
Especially important is a point you made about how we identify leadership in our own lives.
” I think that there is a leader within each of us, and that we can all be great in our own sphere.”
Recently I have discovered several clients’ avoiding leadership because they believed only a select few could be leaders in their organization. I think it is important to emphasize your point that there is a leader within each of us. How we define leadership and the scope of our influence is also important.
Thanks for the great article!
~Linda
*more about existential coaching (http://azione-scopo.com/2009/01/19/what-is-existential-coaching/
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August 8, 2011 at 3:36 PM
Great article and a very catchy way to present your opinion. I definitely feel that great leaders are made, but I also believe that certain personality types develop the necessary skills to be great leaders more easily and quicker than others.
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August 9, 2011 at 3:49 AM
Great article, very interesting and uplifting to read. I also enjoy reading about your daughter and her panda such a true article. I also believe each of us can be a leader we just have to have the desire. We have to be willing to do the work that comes with leadership.
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August 10, 2011 at 1:23 PM
Good article. There is a mix of nature vs. nurture for sure. I personally feel I was born with some leadership qualities. However, I went through a lot of pain as a child and have spent several years trying to develop my own leadership abilities and overcome the negative influences and thought patterns I was surrounded by. It’s a long and difficult path, but rewarding if you can muster the strength to walk into your pain and fear. Most people can’t.
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