Designing a Leader’s Action Plan
June 7, 2019
My First Chance To Lead! Will I Blow It?
September 28, 2019
Let’s ask the questions . . . Are leaders born? Or, are leaders made?
As long as leadership has been defined as a practice of motivating the actions of others, there has never been any proven fact that confirms definitively that leaders are born with a genetic composition that empowers them to lead. Conversely, there are theories that state anyone can be trained to be a leader.
For example, if you put three toddlers in a sandbox to play together with some small plastic dump trucks and shovels, you would assume that they would eventually catch on and figure out that they can take a pile of sand with the shovel and put it in the loader on the dump truck.
More than likely one of the three toddlers will figure out what to do and direct the others to do the same. There is no schematic to this effort, and there has been no prior training to any of the toddlers in what to do here. One can only assume the role as a leader and be adamant on the end result. This scenario would clearly infer that leaders are born, doesn’t it?
Now, let’s take the other two toddlers and say their parents were graduates of military schools and were cadets eventually to become officers in the military. They wanted to maintain their family tradition and send their children to military school to follow in their footsteps. It would be assumed that they could be trained to be leaders and officers in the same manner in which they were trained.
If these toddlers are successful, it would be assumed that they could be trained to be leaders without having a previous disposition to lead.
After careful assessment and examination, it was found that the toddler who led the other two in the sandbox grew up to be an accountant and never really wanted to lead anyone nor ever had a desire to lead.
As far as the two toddlers with the military parents were concerned, one of the toddlers dropped out of ROTC and became a clergyman. The other toddler is now at the rank of Lieut. Col. and in charge of over 500 troops in Afghanistan.
The question on whether or not to lead comes from within. I believe it is discovering the leader in you more than having others assess whether or not you are seen in the eyes of others as a leader.
Leaders have a need to lead. My belief is that true leaders believe that they are incomplete as individuals if they do not lead because they know they can make a difference. It is a mistake to not differentiate between being egotistical and having a strong ego.
It is important to believe in yourself. In fact this is what others will see in you before they trust you to lead. There is a certain character always about you that makes them feel comforted to know that you can bring them to a better place than where they presently are through your leadership.
Leaders are guides and mentors. Good leaders will never give you all the answers and will build your confidence by letting you be part of the decision-making process, which builds trust.
To build confidence in others means to allow them to be creative and innovative and contribute to the strategic goals of the organization. True leadership make subordinates feel like part of growth and success of the organization. Also, it defines future leaders and seeks out those who truly want to lead.