The notion that leaders are born not made is subject to a number of criticisms. But there is evidence and factual information to support the idea that leaders are born. Certain human characteristics are innate such as extraversion, and this is one trait which contributes towards identifying a person as a leader. A person who is extraverted has the charisma to be heard by others and is known to most people he moves amongst. In humans, leaders generally show higher scores in certain personality traits, notably extraversion. (Gentry et al, 2012)
Apart from inborn personality traits, leaders generally have the capability to be able to scrutinize complex situations. Many top university business graduates are unable to critically analyze a situation which goes to prove that this ability comes from within and with learning it can only be enhanced. People who have inherit the ability to learn, will learn quicker and better than people who do not possess this trait. As the Supreme Court Justice describes “I’m going to be picking from the law schools that basically are the hardest to get into. They admit the best and the brightest, and they may not teach very well, but you can’t make a sow’s ear out of a silk purse.” (Scalia, 2012) To further support the claim that leaders are born rather than made, a survey conducted by Center for Creative Leadership upon C-level Executives revealed that 41% and 38% is a result of traits and experiences in becoming a leader ,whereas, only 21% contributes toward training.
Companies place their employees in simulated situations where the use of intuition is focused upon, consequently, people who have the leadership skills within them are able to flourish in such activities. Keeping into consideration the aforementioned facts about leaders being born rather than made leads us to the point that leadership traits can be enhanced by training and other methods but this skill cannot be taught.
In conclusion, an individual depicts leadership qualities every time he is placed in a situation beginning from a very young age consequently people who have this talent in them tend to excel in these situations. However, the kind of traits they depict will vary from situation to situation and the best leaders will know how to adjust to these changing situations.
References
Gentry, W., Deal, J. J., Stawiski, S., & Ruderman, M. (2012). Are Leaders Born or Made?. Center for Creative Leadership, -, 6.
