Do You Believe That the Greatest Leaders Are Born, Not Made

Leaders are born, not made. "What is a leader? By definition, a leader is a person who rules or guides or inspires others. A leader is someone others are willing to follow, almost without question. They may not always make the right decision, but they are confident in the decisions that they make" (Wade 2011). The most inspirational leaders are created from birth. Within my experience, individuals have been able to be promoted to management positions, but are unworthy of this title as leader. This opportunity to be seen as a leader is founded on the basis of performing an admirable job, thus executing above and beyond the norm. By managing their time effectively, a person becomes knowledgeable and skilled in various areas and operations of the company. However, once in their promoted roles, such individuals lack the experience necessary to direct the team they are in charge of. Although some people go to management seminars to learn the basics and the routine of their new position, some come back to the office to apply all that they have learned but quickly realize they do not acquire a key element that is essential to their job title - people skills.

Obtaining people skills is a critical quality to have as a leader. These skills help ensure a group is moving in the direction of a company's vision and overall aesthetic. In order for a group to stay on track, the person in charge of the team needs to have the skill and ability to direct and assign tasks to the group to complete. Without this skill communication within the group would be non-existent. They want people to do an admirable job, but have no skills or ability to direct them to do so. People skills can be learned, but you will have to learn people skills the hard way. You can go to seminars that focus completely on that aspect. You can be taught all the proper etiquette needed in order to treat people fairly, but if you have no interest in people's feelings or have a need to understand what they are saying, you have not attained the knowledge of real people skills. "You see, some people are born people persons, and people skills are easy for them" (Young Einstein 2007).

"A good leader uses his or her authority to do three things: Motivate, manage and make decisions" (Pace 2006). Successful leaders do not just focus on the management aspect; they take time to learn about those they lead, concentrating not just on what their responsibilities are but also on their ideals and inspirations. Leadership is about forming alliances, as well as knowing when to break or reject alliance. The wise and savvy leader will take a step back to draw a map of the terrain (understand office politics, alliances and influences, etc.) and then map out a plan to encourage, enlist, and incorporate those key people who can most in the mission's success. The truly successful leader takes identifies the most influential in an organization