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No one in my option is a born leader. Leaders are made and before one can lead they must first follow.
Posted 12 y ago
Responses: 37
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I believe there are born leaders. I am the father of four kids and watching them grow up some have more leadership skills than the others even as young as two years old. I do not believe you have to follow in order to lead.
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SGT(P) (Join to see)
SSgt-I believe it is impossible to not follow. You start off life by following your parents, teachers, etc., etc. You may climb quickly but it is inevitable, you will follow for brief periods of time during your career/life. Maybe it's not always following but at the very least it's assessing disguised as following. jmo
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That is an age-old question, kind-of like "which came first, the chicken or the egg". I think that the obvious answer is that people can be born with certain traits and characteristics that make them more apt to be leaders than others. Extroverts are more prone to be leaders than introverts, for example.
Leadership, however, is a learned skill, with a set of traits and characteristics we have all been taught in the many leadership schools we have attended. It also something that has to be practiced to be effective. Effective leaders learn to adjust their "leadership" to the people and situation. It is not "one shoe fits all".
Something I heard and have used in the many leadership classes I have taught over the years is that, although I have read many obituaries of great leaders, I have yet to ever see a birth announcement for one. People are born and become leaders during their lives through training, experience, and their own personal traits and characteristics.
Leadership, however, is a learned skill, with a set of traits and characteristics we have all been taught in the many leadership schools we have attended. It also something that has to be practiced to be effective. Effective leaders learn to adjust their "leadership" to the people and situation. It is not "one shoe fits all".
Something I heard and have used in the many leadership classes I have taught over the years is that, although I have read many obituaries of great leaders, I have yet to ever see a birth announcement for one. People are born and become leaders during their lives through training, experience, and their own personal traits and characteristics.
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I'm not sure that I agree with you on this one SGM Jerry Finin . I believe that there are natural born leaders and I believe that no military academy can produce quality to the degree that some seem to have before they even entered the service. It isn't genetics. I don't believe in a super leadership gene, but some people were brought up in an environment that supports the best qualities in superior leadership.
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SFC Nestor Nievesmoran
We do what what our career can afford, what our actions can control, and what our strengths can achieve. A leader is that one that at a point of his life learn to believe in himself and decided not to use excuses to justify his actions. It is that one that learned the importance of sacrifice and the reward of giving the extra mile. No one become a Soldier without training, no one becomes a leader without the inner will. No one is born millionair or poor regardless of the status of his surroundings, some may have all the help available and others will have to struggle, but that does not guarantee who can really become a leader. Everyone was born with a purpose some explore their potential while other become followers.
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I believe that some individuals are born with characteristics that make them "better" leaders, or leaders that just happen to grasp the true meaning of leadership. At the end of the day, leaders must be molded just as followers are.
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I believe leadership is formed from the beginning of life to the current. It starts from parenting and opportunity in early life. From the 1st steps, to sharing, to engaging with others and respecting them for who they are, to Girl Scouting to Boy Scouting, to organized sports to band and to leadership in school programs etc. You start to learn at an early age how to form the world you want to live in. Then it's amplified through out your life with the opportunities and good teaching from your superiors.
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I agree that a leader must be able to follow. In my experience, I know that leaders are born. Some may learn what it means to be a leader, and even attempt to act as leaders. True leadership is a natural character trait. There is no substitute for that.
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I have taught Nursing Leadership and Management.... Everyone can be taught to become a leader.... with that being said, not everyone will become a good/great leader. Much of it revolves around thought processes, critical thinking skills, and overall personality. Some people have the right type of personality that lends itself to being a leader with less effort.
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I read a paper published back in 1984 by Dr. Forrest Bird where he expounds some on your question. His paper - "Technological Gateways and Their Impact Upon World Societies" in the Flying Physician segmented the human race into three categories: 91.5% followers, 7% leaders, and 1.5% pathfinders. I think it's a combination of things that evolve into being a leader ... some of which is innate to your internal makeup and some of which you learn over trial and tribulation. It takes both to be a good leader.
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CPT Richard Riley
"Leaders aren’t born; they are made. And they are made just like anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to pay to achieve that goal, or any goal." Vince Lombardi
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You have your alpha role people who are natural born leaders. These people can naturally have a group follow them because of how they carry themselves right path or wrong. The military is big on leading by position. If I put you in a pace where you should be leading, then I expect others to follow. The problem with this is, you are only a leader if people are willing to follow. How many times have we seen that one "leader" who has no one following them.
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CSGM Finin - True in the sense they are hardwired that way and just refine their skills with experience.
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