Being a freshly minted Dad gets you thinking about a lot of things, namely "why didn't I do this sooner?" or "will I ever get to sleep again?", but it also got me thinking about the statement "He's a born leader". Are some people actually born with leadership skills and others not? What happens if I wasn't? Can I still learn to become one? Will my children be leaders? And the questions go on.
I can't answer them all (yet) but I do have some thoughts on the born leader idea. It's pretty simple really: you ain't born with leadership, your learn it and you earn it. There's no other way. That means everyone has the chance to be a leader. Some are in more advantageous positions than others because of the environment they're brought up in, but when a child takes its first breath of air it starts life in the same place as every other child - a blank canvas. Yeah, yeah, I hear you saying things like "what about genetics?" or "did the Mum eat the right things when she was pregnant" or "Did the parents play a lot of Vivaldi when the baby was in utero?". I've no doubt these have an impact (well, maybe not the music) on what kind of child comes out from its 9 month hiding place but what I'm saying is that almost no matter what, ANYONE CAN BE A LEADER. So I say "Booooooo!" to the term "Born Leader". We can all be leaders, we just gotta learn it and earn it.
Interesting blog, please keep writing.
ReplyDeleteI do agree with the idea that leadership is a skill that can be 'learned and earned' (I like that).
but do you think that some are more naturally gifted as leaders than others?
Are some personalities better suited to leadership? are some people simply stronger in a supporting role than in the front?
I think many struggle as leaders, or never step into leadership, not because they're not 'born leaders' but because the very definition of leadership is confusing at times. We are taught to see leaders as loud, charismatic 'rah rah' types. Whereas, in my opinion, often the greatest leaders are the quieter ones, who lead by example, living with principles like integrity, compassion, and consideration can make one more of a leader than a shouty, loudmouth could ever be!
I guess lately I've been doing a lot of thinking on the nature of leadership and leaders. I too am a new dad, my son is a catalyst for all sorts of thoughts!
and no... I'm not sure we'll EVER get to sleep again!