Are Leaders Born or Made

Abstract
This paper concerns the age-old question that has been tossed about in both business and academia for decades, or even longer: are the best leaders born or made? This question ponders if leadership relies heavily more on innate talents that one showcases without help from others or effort, or if leadership is a skill to be honed just like so many others. This paper demonstrates that the answer is less straightforward than many people would care to believe. Excellent leadership is a hybrid of both innate talents and developed skills. The biggest innate talent that lends itself most wholeheartedly to leadership is that of extroversion. While extroversion is not a guarantee that someone will become an excellent leader, extroversion is the single most consistent trait found in leaders in repeated research studies. The most important skills to develop as an effective leader are communication and self-awareness. This paper discusses at length the nuances, exceptions and implications of these findings.
Are Leaders Born or Made? The Answer: Both
The reality is that when it comes to leadership, there is no simple, dichotomous answer regarding born versus made: good leadership is a hybrid of innate ability and the effort put in to develop this inborn talent or lack thereof. Experts will perhaps always disagree about how many parts natural-ability versus how many parts effort excellent leadership consists of, and that’s fine. The answer will probably differ on a case by case basis. The most important thing to keep in mind is that elite leadership is a hybrid of inborn talents and the work put in to develop those talents. The reality is that excellent leaders have to do things that are fantastically complex and they often need to be able to depend on innate skills they’ve always possessed (like personal warmth) with other skills they’ve been forced to develop over time (like communication).
The Extroversion Pillar
While there is much debate online regarding who makes the better leader, extroverts or introverts, there is enough research to show that extroverts are more likely to be found in leadership roles (Riggio, 2009). The fact that this is a more common finding than the discovery of introverts in leadership roles. This finding suggests that extroversion is one of those inborn personality traits that makes one a natural or more effective leader. It also suggests that people who are extroverts may naturally gravitate to positions of leadership because they consciously or unconsciously understand that leadership positions will help them to use their natural talents more acutely. Researchers have found that there is an exceedingly strong link between extroversion and leadership as it generally manifested in the ability to be gregarious, proactive, assertive, gregarious, high-energy and full of passion and zest (Judge et., 2002). Other research studies have noted the tendency of extroverts to exude warmth, approachable out-going qualities and a sense of being friends (Costa & McCrae, 1991). “The strong interpersonal element associated with this personality trait demonstrates why extroversion is a valid predictor of leader effectiveness” (Annette, 2018). Perhaps one of the major reasons that extroverts make such natural leaders because effective leadership revolves around the ability to get people to do what you say, when you say it: to create followers who are loyal and invested in the work that they do. Extroverts have the power of communication and vigor on their side. They often have an innate understanding of how to connect with people and the right words to use to get people enthused.
Extroversion is a quality that is innate. While people can be taught to communicate more effectively, people can’t really be taught to be more extroverted. Extroverted people have the natural confidence when it comes to meeting strangers, a general affability and a likeability that makes people gravitate to them. While extroversion isn’t necessarily the only quality that makes a great leader, it is definitely a component that researchers see more and more as part of this crucial hybrid of innate and learned qualities. While some experts might disagree, saying that extroversion isn’t as important as is an ability to connect with people, the research is very clear: extroversion is consistently found as a trait in existing leaders.
Learned Skill: Communication
Communication is one of the crucial learned skills that leadership requires. Some experts argue that extroverts are naturally better communicators, but this isn’t always the case. “Great leaders are always considered as first-class communicators, they have a clear set of values and they always believe in promoting and inculcating those values in others. It is due to this reason that their teams appreciate them and follow them as a leader” (Luthra & Dahiya, 2015). It is important to distinguish that being an excellent communicator does not simply mean being great at talking: there is a chasm of difference that exists between the two (Luthra & Dahiya, 2015). Being a great communicator means being able to inspire others: to use one’s own passion, interests and goals to ignite the internal passions, interests and goals within others. This is of course a skill people can learn. While it is true that some people have an innate ability to speak with clarity or to listen will to others, these are all qualities that can be developed over time, if one desires.
It does need to be mentioned that just because someone is an extrovert, does not mean that one is a good communicator. Some extroverts like to “spin” the truth and they often make great sales people and con artists. However they are far from leaders. Great communicators are also fantastic listeners because they have to be. They need to understand the people around them and figure out what motivates and drives them, as well as what they are concerned about or fear. All of the aspects of communication can definitely be learned. It is a crucial aspect of leadership that one can develop and start to perfect over time. Even people who seem like “born communicators” usually grew up in a household where the parents set a good example. These are people who simply learned the skill early on in life. It remains a vital aspect of leadership, though one that can definitely be learned.
Learned Skill: Self-Awareness
Many people in business are surprised to discover that the single most trait to develop as a leader is self-awareness (Anderson, 2012). Many people confuse self-awareness with being self-involved and the two actually couldn’t be more different (Anderson, 2012). Self-involvement speaks to a type of absorption with oneself, and connects to a preoccupation with one’s own needs and desires: it generally borders on narcissism. Self-awareness, on the other hand, suggests that one is able to step back and view oneself from a more clinical and objective viewpoint. “Becoming truly self-aware means to cultivate, on a daily basis, an accurate sense of how you show up in the world and what motivates you” (Anderson, 2012). This means that fostering real self-awareness is when an individual can be aware of their actual strengths and weaknesses as both a leader and a human being (Anderson, 2012). Self-awareness means knowing what one cares most about, where their moral compass lies and how it can be harnessed as a system for guidance (Anderson, 2012). Self-awareness means determining how well one’s actions correspond with one’s words and how much personal integrity one actually possesses.
Self-awareness means one is regularly trying to peer into one’s proverbial blind-spot in order to determine where one’s weaknesses are and where one needs to improve. Great leaders are often engaging in long, uncomfortable “looks in the mirror” in order to ascertain what they’re doing well and what they need to do in order to improve. This too is a skill that one can learn, if one is willing to put in the time and engage in the discomfort that self-awareness requires.
Conclusion
Phenomenal leadership is a hybrid of qualities that are both innate and acquired. Excellent leaders, research has shown, are often extroverts, as a result of many of the inborn qualities of extroversion that lend themselves well to leadership. These qualities are things like warmth, friendliness, inquisitiveness and general affability. They often help form the connections between people that make others engage and want to follow. However, the two other most crucial qualities of leadership are not innate: communication and self-awareness. These skills are definitively learned and literally anyone can perfect these qualities if they so desire.
References
Andersen, E. (2012, December 16). Are Leaders Born Or Made? Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikaandersen/2012/11/21/are-leaders-born-or-made/#6beefa3e48d5
Annette, A. (2018). A Trait-Based Approach to Leadership: Are Leaders born or made? | CQ Net. Retrieved from https://www.ckju.net/en/dossier/trait-based-approach-leadership-are-leaders-born-or-made/1261

Costa, P. T., & McCrae, R. R. (1991). The NEO Personality Inventory Manual. Odessa, Florida: Psychological Assessment Resources.
Judge, T. A., Bono, J. E., Ilies, R., & Gerhardt, M. W. (2002). Personality and leadership: A  qualitative and quantitative review. Journal of Applied Psychology, 87, 4, 765- 780.
Luthra, A., & Dahiya, R. (2015, September). Effective Leadership is all About Communicating Effectively: Connecting Leadership and Communication. Retrieved from https://www.mcgill.ca/engage/files/engage/effective_leadership_is_all_about_co mmunicating_effectively_luthra_dahiya_2015.pdf
Riggio, R. E. (2009, March 18). Leaders: Born or Made? Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/cutting-edge-leadership/200903/leaders-born-or-made





Appendix

Appendix: Outline

Topic sentence, aka thesis statement
The reality is that when it comes to leadership, there is no simple, dichotomous answer regarding born versus made: good leadership is a hybrid of innate ability and the effort put in to develop this inborn talent or lack thereof.

What is your 1st Level 2 Heading?

The Extroversion Pillar


What is your 2nd Level 2 Heading?
Learned Skill: Communication


What is your 3rd Level 2 Heading?

Learned Skill: Self-Awareness


Conclusion