Leaders: Born or Made?

Are leaders born or made?

I found a short and concise website that addresses this question in part and wanted to share it. It is:

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/200903/leaders-born-or-made

I am not always a fan of Psychology Today because its articles fall between true peer-reviewed professional journal articles and the (poorly written and usually not research-based) popular literature found in most bookstores today. But this specific material is well done.

One quote I would share from the article is:

"The fact that leadership is mostly made is good news for those of us involved in leadership development - leaders can indeed be developed. Yet, there is some "raw material," some inborn characteristics, that predispose people to be and become leaders. What are some of the inborn qualities? Research suggests that extraversion is consistently associated with obtaining leadership positions and leader effectiveness. There is also some evidence that being bold, assertive, or risk-taking can be advantageous for leaders. Leaders also need to be smart to analyze situations and figure out courses of action. So, intelligence is associated with leadership, but perhaps not general IQ, but social intelligence - understanding of social situations and processes - is the component of intelligence that is important for leadership. Finally, some sort of empathy, or ability to know followers, is also advantageous for leaders (although much of this is learned). As noted leadership scholar, Bernard Bass, noted, "The leader must be able to know what followers want, when they want it, and what prevents them from getting what they want."

Notice the veiled reference to The Big Five (see earlier posts on the Big Five Personality Theory)?