Introduction
Leadership is an important aspect in modern day organizational environment. However, many issues have come up regarding the concept of leadership and how it can be realized. There is a raging debate on leadership with some people believing that leaders are born, whereas other arguing that leaders are made. Those who believe that leaders are born hold the view that leaders possess some innate qualities that contribute to their success as leaders. On the other hand, for those who believe that leaders are made, the view is that leadership can be learned and developed just like any other behavior or characteristic (Robbins, 2005). These assertions bring about the concept of nature versus nurture in respect to leadership (Johnson, Vernon, McCarthy, Molson, Harris, & Jang, 1998). This essay shall elaborate on the debate as to whether leadership is a product of the environment through learning, or it is an inborn character that individuals are born with.
Leadership
Leadership can be defined as the ability and desire for inspiring and influencing others. Leaders are very important in organizations as they provide guidance to the organization in realizing its intended goals. Leaders guide the organizational performances to ensure that the organization is on the right track to effectively realize its set objectives. Good leadership is usually associated with success of the organization (Robbins, 2005). An example of good leadership has been seen at Apple Incorporation, in which the former chief executive director, the late Steve Jobs, provided good leadership that saw the company become a leader in the provision of electronics gadgets. Good leadership is characterized by integrity, honesty and good interpersonal skills among others. On the other hand, bad leadership is characterized by corruption, dishonesty, and lack of good interpersonal relationship among others. Bad leadership often leads to failure of the organization to realize its set goals (Kotter, 1990).
Leaders are born
There is an argument that leaders are born, and not made. In essence, it can be argued that leaders are born with certain characteristics which make them become successful leaders. One of the characters of leaders is intelligence. Successful leaders have to be smart in the way they execute their duties. It is not necessary that leaders in an organization have to be smarter than other people; however, it is important that they are smart to carry out their obligations. One of the celebrated characteristic of leaders is charisma. This is an inborn trait that most leaders possess. Such leaders with charisma include Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, and Mohandas Gandhi among others. Advocates of the notion that leaders are born argue that leaders are born with unique character traits which form the basis of good leadership (Arvey, Rotundo, Johnson, Zhang, & McGue, 2006).
It has been asserted that though there are numerous managers and supervisors, very few among them qualify as leaders. Leadership as a born trait cannot be learned, though management can be learned. Since leaders are seen as individuals who inspire followers, it is important to note that they possess an inherent feature which is not found in others. That unique feature is what differentiates the leaders from the rest of the population. Born leaders can be identified at different levels including informal and formal levels. Born leaders emerge from the informal groups from which they are bestowed as leaders by the group members. They then develop to become future leaders as they spread their influence to become more efficient (Kotter, 1990).
Leaders are made
The argument that leaders are born and not made has been refuted by those who argue that leadership can be learned. In this respect, leadership has been viewed as an aspect that can be learnt by interested individuals. Leadership that has been acquired through learning is gotten via experience whereby individuals become leaders when they are able to accomplish certain tasks. It can be observed that leaders may not necessarily be identified from the start; however, they develop under various circumstances and the urge to succeed. The leaders who are made are usually flexible and can learn the essential skills that enable them to become effective leaders (Arvey, Rotundo, Johnson, Zhang, & McGue, 2006).
Apart from charisma, leaders have other qualities that define them as leaders. In this respect, leaders are characterized by precise judgment, good attitude, wisdom, integrity, and vision among other positive characteristics. These are features which can be learned by individuals who aspire to become leaders. It can be agreed that leaders are born with potential, but it is only by learning that effective leaders can be identified. In this regard, it can be asserted that mentoring is necessary in developing leadership (Johnson, Vernon, McCarthy, Molson, Harris, & Jang, 1998). Therefore, leadership per se is a concept that is entrenched in the learning process. It does not matter if someone was born a leader since the modern trend requires that an individual has to be trained to become an effective leader (Kotter, 1990).
The impacts of the debate
The debate on whether leaders are born or made can have far reaching impacts on the leadership aspect in the organization. This debate has a bearing on the way training and development is carried out in an organization. For those executive directors who hold the belief that leaders are born; they may select individuals with inborn leadership features for leadership positions and expect them to realize organizational success. It is not a bad idea to select particular individuals for leadership position, but it is important to conduct leadership development procedures to enhance effectiveness in leadership (Kotter, 1990).
There is also another danger that can emerge in respect to the protracted debate about leadership. In this respect, some of the in-born aspects of leadership can only come up due to learning. For instance, it has generally been assumed that extraverts are more likely to emerge as good leaders compared to introverts. However, social skills have been found to be an essential aspect among the extraverts that places them in an advantageous position to become leaders. It has to be agreed that social skills, such as effective communication skills, is something that can be learnt. Therefore, it can be asserted that learning is an essential aspect of leadership and thus, leaders are made (Fulmer and Conger, 2004).
Conclusion
The debate surrounding the concept of leadership origin can be said to be unnecessary as it may mislead individuals regarding the concept of leadership. Nevertheless, it can be agreed that leaders are generally made as opposed to being born. This is because even those who claim that leaders are born, they forget to acknowledge that born leaders need some training to become effective leaders. The born leaders only exhibit features which need to be honed through the learning process to realize effective leadership. In the modern environment, organizations should lay emphasis on training programs meant to impart leadership skills among individuals in the management positions.
References
Arvey, R. D., Rotundo, M., Johnson, W., Zhang, Z., & McGue, M. (2006). The determinants of leadership role occupancy: Genetic and personality factors. Leadership Quarterly, 17, 1-20.
Fulmer, R.M., & Conger, J.A. (2004). Growing your company’s leaders: How great organizations use succession management to sustain competitive advantage. New York: AMACOM.
Kotter, J.P. (1990). A Force for Change: How Leadership Differs from Management. New York: Free Press.
Johnson, A. M., Vernon, P A., McCarthy, J. M., Molson, M., Harris, J. A., & Jang, K. L. (1998). Nature vs nurture: are leaders born or made? A behavior genetic investigation of leadership style. Twin Research. 1(4):216-23.
Robbins, S. P. (2005). Organizational Behavior, 11th Ed. New Delhi: Prentice-Hall of India.