are leaders born or made?

Note: This article was written in June 2004.

In the last fortnight, I have been watching a reality TV show here in the UK, called, "Hell’s Kitchen", where ten celebrities were put through their paces, training to be a chef. Their leader? Gordon Ramsay, a well-renowned chef whose reputation for being a tough cookie (understatement) to work for precedes him.

I was glued to the box in fascination, as Gordon called the celebrities names, swore at them, shouted, yelled, and then, in quieter moments when an individual was close to breaking down from the stressfully long days and tension in the kitchen, he would be gentle, compassionate, supportive and encouraging.

What kind of leader shouts names and profanities at his team?

The bottom line is that the kind of leader one has to be is contextual, depending on what is happening in the moment. For example, an immediate crisis needs command and control - not that I agree with the insults and profanities.

By the end of the two weeks, Gordon had earned the respect of his students. And each of the team had, in their turn, developed into leaders in their own right.

Interesting viewing!

So, what is it that makes a leader? "Leaders are born and not made," the saying goes. Which one do you think it is?

If you read books on leadership, you will find a whole host of traits attributed to leaders - tough-mindedness, self-confidence, high energy, visionary, influential, passionate, charismatic, empathetic, decisive... and so the list goes on.

Many people look at the list, or indeed at the person with the title of leader, and they say to themselves, "That’s not me", or "I haven’t got what it takes", or "If that is what it’s like to be a leader, then I don’t want to be a leader".

Therein lies the tragedy.

You see, each and every single person is born a leader. The difference is that each and every single person will be a leader in something different, and in their own way.

We have begun to think of a leader only in the context of the person who heads up the organisation. But think about a symphony orchestra. There is the conductor – who leads the orchestra. Then there is the lead violinist, and the lead cellist, and the lead percussionist. Then there is the solo flautist – aren’t they a leader too?

A true leader is not necessarily the person with the title. A true leader is the person with the passion and the belief for what they stand for, whose vision is so clear that they keep focused on it through thick and thin, and fight to keep it alive. A leader is a person with purpose.

Their passion, belief, vision and purpose are what give them their high energy, their enthusiasm, their ability to influence. They come from a place far deeper than intellect.

The trouble is that many people in the workplace cannot quite remember what it is that they feel passionate about (other than what they don’t want). What is it that they believe in and will stand up for? That they have a vision for? That will give them a sense of purpose? If you can find that, firstly in yourself, if you haven’t already, and then in others, and allow them to bring that forth and align that with the vision and purpose of the team, department and organisation, then you will truly begin to see the leader in them begin to blossom.

That is the part of the leader in them that is born. Then there are the elements which are gathered through skills and experience. And that is the part of the leader in them that is made.

Being a leader is about being naturally you, when you know what you really want and feel passionately about that.

What difference would it make to how you are and who you are being, if you were to find that passion, and know that you are a leader?

What difference would it make to the performance of the people who work with you, if you looked on each and everyone of them as a leader in their own right, and you treated them as such? How might they blossom with your support?

Everyone has the ability to express their passion, to have their say and to lead. It doesn’t just have to be the person "at the top".

Action Points

1. Create an environment which is conducive to allowing people to develop.

2. Provide them with the skills and the experience.

3. Acknowledge and reinforce their taking the lead as appropriate.

4. Provide support.

Don’t wait for someone else to take the lead. Just take it!

Quote

"You don't have to hold a position in order to be a leader." - Anthony J. D'Angelo

"I start with the premise that the function of leadership is to produce more leaders, not more followers." - Ralph Nader

"The leadership instinct you are born with is the backbone. You develop the funny bone and the wishbone that go with it." - Elaine Agather

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