Leadership: Natural or Acquired? (1 Viewer)

[iambored]

Do you think leadership is a natural or an acquired skill, and why? Do you think it's something that's built into one's personality or something influenced by one's environment? What do you believe are the qualities of a good leader...do you think they come naturally or must be "learned"?

both

for some it's natural, for other's it's acquired. it's about taking risks, guiding a group, trusting them and letting them work on their own to the full potential while also helping them and generally overlooking what's going on. it's about setting a good example, being organised, approachable, dependable, helpful, matter of fact, down to earth, following up on what's asked or any issues, imo.



Risk taking is an important characteristic everywhere imo, you have to take a risk to change things if something isn't working so well, you have to take a risk to put people in certain positions to see if they can work well there.

 

[Digital_Spork]

In primary school, i was a nobody

Agreed. I was the same in primary school,I used to look up to the guys I played sport with (the older kids) as leaders and perhaps I learnt from them? I think leadership is based on being brought up with good morals, as someone mentioned... but you cant expect it to effective from birth... you need to learn to develop it.

 

[volition]

Yeah, I'm in the same 'part born with it, part acquire it' boat, but I feel that it's more towards the 'acquisition' of leadership. I think that natural ability plays a comparatively smaller role when compared to sheer practice and 'learning'.

I think that we often learn to lead by watching other people lead, and imitating that. One example of this is cadets, where you start off as a pleb and watch the older kids lead, and then as you get older (and get better ranks) you just do what the older students did for you when you were younger.

 

[~ ReNcH ~]

Personally, I try to set a good example and I know that people do respect me. However, whilst I may be perceived as a possible leader, the main barrier I confront is taking on the responsibility for fear that I may lose my reputation were I to fail or do something wrong. That said, sometimes I do take risks and they pay off. I just wonder if the reluctance to take risks is built into my personality or whether it's due to my particular environment. Ironically, I feel more comfortable taking risks around people I don't know as opposed to people I do know.

 

[tempco]

Personally, I try to set a good example and I know that people do respect me. However, whilst I may be perceived as a possible leader, the main barrier I confront is taking on the responsibility for fear that I may lose my reputation were I to fail or do something wrong. That said, sometimes I do take risks and they pay off. I just wonder if the reluctance to take risks is built into my personality or whether it's due to my particular environment. Ironically, I feel more comfortable taking risks around people I don't know as opposed to people I do know.

again, that boils down to exposure/experience. your ability to make decisions with limited amounts of information improves as you make more decisions of that nature.

and as for your reluctance to take risks around people you know, i'm guessing you're not as confident as you'd like to be? again, confidence comes with experience, although degrees of confidence from a set amount of experience varies between people.

imo, anyway.

 

[still waiting]

In primary school, i was a nobody, by no means can i look back and say i was a leader, but as soon as i reached high school, the teachers, and my parents both made me realise what i had, so i allowed what i had to come out, in turn i have become a leader, school captain in fact.

i agree with that, i was the same in primary school but im now the social justice captain and i love it, i think that it develops due to who you are and the circumstances that u grow up in,

 

[braad]

so is there a link between leadership and maturity levels in people? imo it seems like a common link, sort of like common sense.

 

[Ryken]

It is definately acquired. Just look at the leaders in the the world wars. Guys who were shy and everyone thought to be weak tend to be the ones who perform the best in such situations. Those who everyone thought was tough and able to lead broke under the pressure and could not perform. Sure this wont happen to all but it was a regular occurance in many situations such as war time

 

[nwatts]

so is there a link between leadership and maturity levels in people? imo it seems like a common link, sort of like common sense.

I think so. Of all those I know with excellent leadership skills, the vast majority are very mature individuals.

(btw - do people like my new avatar? Grabbed it from this ripper deviantArt gallery)

 

[get_born]

its both, depending on the person, there are some individuals who are naturally good at being leaders, and there are others who have walked in the shadows of others, or have been trampled on throughout their lives, that it has built up, and made them leaders.

 

[my sharona]

I think that leadership is a natural skill that most people have, but few people use or realise.