Leaders- Born or Created ?

[roper1]

The recent non-emergence of Geoff Ward as the Boss vs Assistant made me think of working people I've known. Not many seemed to transition well once the complete mantle of responsibility was on their shoulders.

Talking workplace here vs professional athletes/coaches.

[elkhunter11]

Some people are natural leaders, others aren't. Some can become better leaders, some can't.

[Grizzly Adams]

You need the mindset, some people are just happy to be led, some like taking a little leadership, but it takes a Trump , to run for president.

Grizz

[barsik]

just look at our "leader". he was hatched and raised by a pair of nitwits. don't know why you started this thread OP.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by barsik

just look at our "leader". he was hatched and raised by a pair of nitwits. don't know why you started this thread OP.

He isn't actually a leader, he is a figurehead.

[Off in the Bushes]

To me good leadership just doesn’t happen it is a recipe. Leadership is a skill set, but it is up to you on how well you wish to use those skills. In my time I have come to figure out that the most qualified person is not necessarily the right person for leadership. To me the key is communication, it about relating your valves or that of company with the people you are leading so that you are all on the same page.

[bloopbloob]

Born leaders. Some have it, some don't. I've gone through it for almost 20 years now. We have an ex-janitor putting a lot of past supervisors to shame. Accountability, Organization and delegation. Goes a long way with that approach. He went from mopping floors to a production supervisor. Pretty proud of his progression.

[Don K]

Born a leader and get better over time and through experience.

Trudeau is what happens when you try to create a leader... fail...

[mrcrossbow]

Ether you have it or you don't. So yes born that way, you have a certain drive, you thrive under pressure, can make hard decisions, of course just being born that way helps but then you need the environment and schooling, ether book learned or life experience, combo of both would be the best. Also a bit of detachment from other ppl. Ie having to let that person go knowing they will probably not make rent and let's just add they have a child also, but letting them go will help your team or company or what ever. Most ppl can't do that, and that's ok, world needs leaders and followers.

[urcayuse]

The best leaders are the reluctant ones. Those who crave authority are never to be trusted.

[EZM]

Originally Posted by urcayuse

The best leaders are the reluctant ones. Those who crave authority are never to be trusted.

True ....I have heard that before and I agree with it 100% - selfless leadership, service for a cause, dedication and duty - not ambition, ego and power hunger

You must be born with the instinct to lead.

And you must be taught how to motivate and inspire those you lead.

It's both.

[KegRiver]

Leadership does take a degree of natural ability, but it also takes opportunity and a lot of learning.

Anyone can be a leader given the opportunity and training but that does not mean they are good at it.

The best leaders are born with a natural ability to lead, they are given the opportunity to learn to lead and then the opportunity to lead.

I've worked for guys who had held leadership positions for years and still could not lead effectively and I've worked for guys who did the job well right from day one. Many who had no previous experience in that capacity.

I've also ran crews very successfully.
Some of my staff were considered poor workers but they worked hard for me and were loyal to me, following orders without complaint.
I also had crews that would come back year after year looking to get on a crew I ran.
All the crews I lead were seasonal.

Could I have ran a large company? I doubt it, I did not have the required education, but I do run my own company now, all-be-it a sole proprietor company with one employee, me.

The thing is I don't like to lead, I actually prefer to work alone.
I also have no training, yet I seem to do well when thrust into the position.

It's kinda funny thinking about it now, a few months after I started my company I was talking to a successful businessman.
He asked me if I had a business plan, I said no I don't. In fact I had no idea what a business plan was or how to make one.
Well he asked me where I would source supplies, so I told him what I had arranged, then he asked me about financing and pricing, so I told him what I'd done with that. He asked some more questions and then he told me I had a business plan and he thought it was a good plan. I was shocked.

So is that natural ability or just plain luck? I honestly don't know.

[MyAlberta]

I think it’s both. Forward thinkers, trusted by their peers, who provide an environment of growth. I wouldn’t say they are created, but rather enabled.

[elkhunter11]

Originally Posted by urcayuse

The best leaders are the reluctant ones. Those who crave authority are never to be trusted.

That is very often true, the people that crave power and authority, will do whatever it takes to get it, and they don't care how other people are effected.

[Mavrick]

I was a leader in my occupation for 20 years, but it took me 20 years before that to grow and mature to get there. When I was a leader young guys would ask me how they get to where I was, I always said time. You can be a born leader, but it takes a life time to be a good one in my opinion.

[58thecat]

Leaders are modded through their own real life experiences and seem to have the ability to quickly grasp a better way of doing business, put the hours into it, are great listeners and only speak when need to....always striving to be effective and efficient and never make excuses for a step back.....in society even if not in charge they are the people that others will gravitate too...the respect was earned not a given or a handout.....this leadership will surface and shine during situations that are deemed emergencies or need immediate positive outcomes...less then 10% have this ability.

[Head Lice]

Justin Trudeau is not my leader. He has embarrassed me. He has embarrassed my country. I consider him a traitor. Clear enough?

[tirebob]

It is both... Some people are natural and some people learn it along the way. I think the best are definitely a combination of the two. That said, some people are simply born followers through and through and nothing can change that. A lot of it is learned behaviour on both sides of that fence, but if you have that innate sense of leadership built into you from the get-go, from there it is the learning that becomes most important.

[trailraat]

It's neither one or the other. Some are born with personality traits and abilities that give them an natural advantage in leading, but those skills need to be developed properly through training and experience. Someone can also learn to be an effective leader.

It's also important to define an effective leader. Just because you like someone's policies doesn't mean they are a good leader. Trump got elected because of his policies and his personality, not because of his leadership ability. If he was a leader, he wouldn't have spent the last 4 years bickering with everyone including his own team and probably would have been re-elected. I would also make a similar argument that Obama and Trudeau are also a poor leaders.

[elkhunter11]

The way we were judged at work, was more on the performance of our team, than on any individual accomplishments. If your team was healthy, and nobody was hurt, that was a huge part. If your team operated at high efficiency, and achieved high schedule attainment, that was a large part. If you had no call backs, that was very important. They looked at any innovations or changes made by your team to reduce costs or improve reliability, or to reduce down time. Then they looked at absenteeism, and individual issues in the team, and how you dealt with them. If you were involved with hiring, they looked at the records of the people that you hired. Then lastly, they looked at any personal accomplishments, or personal issues that you had. Those were the things that determined whether you received raises, or bonuses, and how big they were.
If you judged political leaders using similar criteria, you would look at the health and living conditions of the citizens, you would look at unemployment and whether you were operating at a deficit or a surplus, then you would look social issues in your own country. The issues in other countries would only come after your own country was looked after.

[amosfella]

I think both come into play. The ration of born:fostered/learned depends on the individual.

I also think that certain traits need to be fostered early on in life (under 6 years old) to make being a leader easier.

In my very humble opinion, a lot of the mess the world is in currently is because there are lots of individuals that have no leadership ability in positions of leadership. What makes it worse is these folk think they got there by merit.

[Cross Eyed Cowboy]

Money, power and the media create a Leader.

Any reference that promotes the choosen Leader is an illusion maintained by the money,power and media that originally placed them there.

[Red Bullets]

The great leader of a powerful country died and he went to the pearly gates. There were two lines to chose from to stand in and wait his turn. One line for men who dominated and one line for men who were dominated. When his turn came up St. Peter asked the great leader why he chose the line up that was for men who were dominated. The great leader replied, " My wife told me to stand here."

[spazzy]

Leadership is one thing ... being a leader is another . I was thrown into a leadership role early on in life , when I wasn't ready . Result I had hands that wanted to kill me I was expecting too much I had no clear expectations , I thought I was the **** !! And they thought I was full of it . Although I don't like to admit it they were right . I took a demotion and through that learned alot about myself and about people skills . I then worked myself back into a leadership role in wich I was ready to lead , I found myself in a position in which they looked up to me . With out me trying I had guys working there literal ass off just too earn my respect , at this point I could see myself as an actual leader with clear expectations , a true work ethic and understanding of every task or job I asked of them . I work on it daily and improve daily . And can honestly say that true leadership is learnt and a little bit born with . Bottom line if they want to to work for you as apposed to just working for you than you got what it takes . Respect goes a long way but don't forget it goes both ways .

[Sundog57]

Looking at the current political situation - federal and provincial - the answer is appears to be c. none of the above