Career
Pathways
Are you a leader?: How are Leaders made?
A great deal of material can be found on the topic of leadership and a huge variety of literature is available on the subject. The main reason this appears to be so is because people believe that they can “learn” to become leaders simply be reading books, magazines or journals. The general belief is that leaders can be created by learning and acquiring the correct mix of skills, rather than naturally possessing these qualities. The reality, however, is that both these beliefs are true: Leaders can be born as well as made. The key element here is the mix of talents and skills that are possessed by individuals. It is this mix that distinguishes leaders that are born from leaders that are made.
What are talents and skills? Talents are naturally present within a person – a person is naturally good at something, or not good at something. Talents cannot be acquired or transferred. Skills, on the other hand, are acquired and learned and may easily be transferred from one individual to another. When people fail to distinguish between what is a talent and what is a skill, they mistakenly start to believe that simply learning or acquiring knowledge can make one a leader. They begin to put their faith in training courses and material, expecting that the knowledge they obtain from such sources will automatically equip them to become leaders. In this they are mistaken: some traits cannot simply be acquired or developed through training courses. For example, the ability to develop a vision, which is a key trait for leadership, is an inborn talent which cannot be learnt through training. However training can equip those who do not naturally possess this talent with the knowledge to do it better. The difference is that the one who naturally possesses the talent can eventually become excellent at it, whereas the one who does not will only become adequate at it.
How does one become a leader then? The key is to discover what your talents are, and then to develop them by, for instance, taking on projects that utilize or develop on these talents.
