Are leaders born or made? This is a question that many scholars, psychologists, and everyday people have asked before our time, and will even after we are gone. Some have argued that great leaders are born. Still others have argued that great leaders are made. So, which is it, traits or skills that makes someone a great leader?
Lord, DeVader, and Alliger, found that the individuals’ perceptions of leadership were associated to traits (.Northouse, 2016, p. 20). Take John F. Kennedy, one of the greatest leaders of the modern era. People found him to be charismatic, intelligent, masculine, and self-confident. During Stogdill’s first survey he found eight traits of leadership, intelligence, alertness, insight, responsibility, initiative, persistence, self-confidence, and sociability (Northouse, 2016, p. 20). We can see from Stogdill’s first survey that John F. Kennedy had a lot of these traits. Were these traits the reason he was a great leader?
In 1955 Robert Katz wrote an article for the Harvard Business Review called “Skills of an Effective Administrator” (Northouse, 2016, p. 43). Within this article Katz described three skill sets of an administrator. The skills were technical, human, and conceptual. Technical skills are the knowledge about specific type of work, human skills is how to work with people, and conceptual skills are the ability to work with ideas and concepts (Northouse, 2016, p. 44-45). The argument is people can learn these skills.
John F. Kennedy was a poor student when he was younger. He went to a boarding school called Canterbury, and besides his bad grades went to Choate, an elite Connecticut preparatory school. It was there where he showed brilliance in the subjects he liked, but managed just average grades in the subjects he did not like. It was not until he was an upperclassman at Harvard, that he got serious about his studies. “He began to realize his potential” (Biography.com Editors, 2017). He later joined the U.S. Navy and commanded a patrol torpedo boat. On August 2, 1943 during an act from the Japanese, an injured Kennedy led survivors to safety until help could arrive (Biography.com Editors, 2017).
John learned the skill technical, human, and conceptual skills in every step of his education right up through and into the Navy. Do you believe that Kennedy would have been the man he was without the educational background, and the experience in the Navy? Some may say yes and others would say no. During his youth, Kennedy was more interested in sports and women (Biography.com Editors, 2017). It was not until he took his studies seriously, did Kennedy start to become the man he was going to be.
“Skills are what leaders can accomplish, whereas traits are who leaders are” (Northouse, 2016, p. 44). We can see that is true with Kennedy. There is no denying that he was charismatic, intelligent, and self-confident. These were his traits, the person who he was. He learned to work with people, and with ideas. John developed the skill that great leaders need.
So, are great leaders made or are they born? For me it is a little of both. We can see that people love J.F.K. for the person he was, or by his traits. It was not until he started to learn skills to go along with those traits did a leader start to be born. If a person has the skills but no leadership traits, could they be a leader? If they have the traits but no skills, could they be a leader? It is possible, but to be a great leader, you need both skills and traits.
References
Biography.com Editors. (2017, October 27). John F. Kennedy Biography. Retrieved from https://www.biography.com/us-president/john-f-kennedy
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.
Fonda Garcia says
How leaders are leaders or become leaders is the exact nature of this course and, as evident through this course, a question that has been examined, re-examined, and most likely continue to be examined for years to come. The example of leadership through John F. Kennedy is a sound exhibition of both the trait and skills approaches of leadership. Both, however, exhibit the theory that people can be developed or made into leaders (Northouse, 2016). His personality traits could have also been shaped throughout his life experiences which allowed him to be the leader he was (Northouse, 2016). Environmental influences of his humble beginnings and career experiences in the navy could have had a major impact in the development of individual attributes and competencies of John F. Kennedy and thus his leadership (Northouse, 2016).
Reference
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice 7th Edition. Los Angeles, CA: Sage Publications.
Letticia Cheri Banda says
A person that leads by example will gain respect and trust from their followers. “Without influence leadership, does not exist”. (Northouse, 2016) A leader must have the ability to communicate and articulate information in ways that are beneficial to different people. There is no perfect equation, to what makes a leader. Some people are born with a quality that send them into a leadership position and some people are just great followers. I believe an effective leader develops over time. “Defining leadership as a process means that it is not a trait or characteristic that resides in the leader, but rather a transactional event that occurs between the leader and the followers”. (Northouse, 2016) Life is a trial and error, were we learn from are mistakes. Just as JFK did. He evolved into a great leader and a great representation for the people. A person that is genuine, respectful and has a presence of greatness. I believe leaders are born and made. We have the ability, to listen, understand, and follow directions. So, within time a great leader is developed. “Process implies that a leader affects and is affected by followers. It emphasizes that leadership is not a linear, one-way event, but rather an interactive event”, (Northouse, 2016) However, it requires the ability to adapt to any shape as water does. There is no right or wrong answer, it is solely based upon what is required for those in need of leadership. Everyone has the ability to become a leader. We just have to believe, stay focused, and remain determined.
Northouse, P.G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publictions.
Brianna Strohmeyer says
This post reminds me of the nature versus nurture debate in psychology. Specifically, it is questioned whether maladaptive personality traits that inform maladaptive behaviors are learned, or if a person is born with these traits. This is a debate that is still going on, as sometimes, these traits are a result of brain abnormalities. In terms of your question, whether leaders are born or made, I believe that because leadership traits are personality constructs, leadership is most likely a learned phenomenon. While it is possible that one may possess genetic factors that predispose them to become a leader (i.e. maybe a smaller amygdala which can result in lower empathy, or vice versa), these biological factors interact with the environment to ultimately form a person’s personality.
pdb5155 says
One of the great questions on leadership development! I appreciate your choice of John F. Kennedy to prove your point, because he was known as one of the most influential leader of our time.
I share your opinion of leaders being shaped by both skills and traits. I think leaders show traits early on, and once they realize their strong traits, they can branch skills off those traits. As a high school teacher, I see young men and women who have realized many of their strengths by the time they get to high school. The growth of their leadership skills during their four years in high school is the most satisfying to see, because, for many of them, they are introduced to sports, various student body leadership positions, and earn roles in the classroom based on their success in a given subject. The quote you used in your post, “…human skills is how to work with people, and conceptual skills are the ability to work with ideas and concepts” (Northouse, 2016, p. 44-45), supports my view on the development of leadership skills in future leaders during their high school years.
Northouse, P. G. (2016). Leadership: Theory and Practice (7th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE Publications.