Natural Born Leaders
I greatly enjoy discussing, reading about and being a student of leadership. I recently had an interesting discussion with a colleague about natural born leaders. That discussion lead to me remembering a question that was raised in my mind by a book I recently completed on whether leadership is a trait that we are born with, or if it is one that can be developed? What do you think? The answer as laid out by author John C. Maxwell in The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership is that both answers are correct. He further specifies that you can achieve higher levels of effectiveness by improving your leadership skills in stating "Personal and organizational effectiveness is proportionate to the strength of leadership." This is an interesting subject and one that can lead to developmental opportunities in how we look at this unique blend of skills that allow us to effectively lead our businesses, teams, etc., to perform at peak levels.
I personally believe that there are two groups that could benefit the most by increasing their leadership skill set. First there are the individuals that are exceptionally intelligent but limit their ability to be successful due to lacking the necessary leadership skills to accomplish greatness. This can, however, be reversed if the individual understands their need to grow this particular area of their ability and makes a strong personal commitment to follow through on execution. Then there are the individuals who fall into the "natural born leaders" group who rely way too much on their instincts verses being an ongoing student of leadership. I say this because if someone achieves high levels of success only using their God given leadership abilities (in my opinion) it would be a travesty to not make a commitment to develop those skills to an even higher level of effectiveness. Do you fall into one of these groups? Better yet, do you have any resources that you are currently using or have utilized in the past that have been particularly effective in developing your leadership skills or the skills of those around you?
3 comments:
Professionally I have always wanted to have a better understanding on the direction of our leadership and where our company is going. I think your blog will provide a way for all of us out in the field to have a greater impact on the business with the information you share. I look forward to reading your blogs in the future.
Commenting on your blog is one of the ways I'm working on the 'details'. This is a new forum for me and as a leader I'm excited about being involved and learning to master new concepts such as this. I look forward to returning to your blog for insight and ideas!
I feel very strongly that leadership capabilities left latent become atrophied and dormant. Some are born with a natural tendency and ability to lead. Some are born with a desire to lead but leadership is not a natural expression of self for them. Other simply want to be lead. I feel that people want to be lead rather than follow. There is a big distinction between these two concepts. Lemmings follow, oftentimes to their own demise. Those who are lead are driven, pushed, prodded, encouraged and stretched to become better versions of themselves. Thus, there is a premium to be placed on leaders as opposed to managers. It is not enough in today's workplace to simply manage the people and situations involved. Success, both short and long term, is inextricably linked to expansive leadership that not only defines the course to be followed but shines a light on the end goal and drives the process and people necessary for the achievement of the desired outcome. I look forward to future postings on this and other topics.
Post a Comment