Born vs Taught Leaders Leadership

Leadership: Born vs. Taught Leaders

Born vs. Taught Leaders: Leadership

Experts have given conflicting views in the question of whether leaders are born or made. One faction believes that leaders are born with special qualities that predispose them to occupy positions of authority from an early age. The other, however, believes that leadership capabilities are developed over time through education and training. This text evaluates both arguments and gives a tentative position on the issue.

Are Leaders Born or Taught?

Rose Haggerty and Don Berwick give conflicting views on the question of whether people who are not born leaders can actually become good leaders. Berwick is of the opinion that whereas some people are born to be leaders, anyone can lead, as long as they receive the right training and education. In other words, leadership can be taught. Haggerty, on the other hand, believes that leaders are born; as such, only the outgoing, socially-intelligent people, who are naturally able to work with others and bring together a wide variety of views, can make good leaders.

I am of the opinion that leadership is a set of innate traits, perfected and refined over time through experience, training and education. There are some inborn qualities such as extroversion that predispose one to become a leader. These can rightly be described as the 'raw materials' of leadership, which have to be nurtured and refined through training and education in order for one to make a good leader. People born with these characteristics are better-placed to become leaders. This is not to mean, however, that those born without these qualities cannot become leaders -- they can be taught to lead, through training and education, only that they will require more work in self-development than their counterparts who are born-leaders. Towards this end, it is possible for someone who is not a born-leader to be taught to lead, as long as they are willing and capable of learning. There is empirical proof to support the argument that leadership can be taught. A multi-year study conducted on 1800+ army officers with the aim of developing a capabilities model that connects a leader's skill and knowledge to their performance concluded that leadership capabilities can be developed through education and experience (Connelly et al., 2000).

Moreover, even the born leaders require training and education to be able to lead effectively. We could take the example of child-leaders in school settings -- these are mostly selected based on some charismatic traits that they possess beyond their peers. However, these leaders only retain their command to the point of the first crisis -- when a baseball breaks a window, or someone gets sick, someone of higher authority, most often a teacher, takes command. This is an illustration that even those endowed with the desirable traits of leadership from birth require self-development, training and education to be able to effectively handle more complex crises situations. Although they are predisposed to lead, they need to be taught some crucial skills such as self-reflection and focused-thinking skills, which are crucial to effective leadership in complex situations. I would conclude, therefore, that leadership can be taught.

Question Two: Management Skills that DNP will need to learn in future

Porter-O'Grady (2001) presents a picture of how the nursing profession is changing as a result of technological advancement in the healthcare sector. The author posits that owing to the changes currently being experienced, nurses will need to equip themselves with the right management skills to ensure that they remain relevant, and as successful as possible in their profession.

One of these is technological skills. The healthcare environment is changing, particularly in the adoption of new technologies. Technologies such as biometrics, clinical decision support (CDS), and electronic health records require professionals to be rich in technical knowledge. As these technologies become commonplace, nurses will be forced to equip themselves with the requisite technical skills so they are able to operate, and position themselves effectively.

Besides technological skills, nurses will need to develop expert decision-making skills. Healthcare decisions based on empirical science and research are likely to produce desired results. However, decisions in such complex environments as healthcare can be hard to judge, and could get even harder in future. For this reason, nurses will need to sharpen their decision-making skills, as well as their skill in using expert networks or communities in decision-making. This will help to ensure that problems are combated effectively.

Nurses will also need to build their team-building and collaborative skills to be successful in future. According to Porter-O'Grady (2001), the healthcare landscape is changing; partnerships and teamwork are becoming increasingly prominent in nurses' working environments. For this reason, it is prudent that nurses cultivate good collaboration and teamwork skills. This will help to ensure that they work cooperatively with others, and are able to maintain healthy relationships at the workplace.

Finally, nurses will need to equip themselves with change-management skills. As already mentioned, technology is changing the way things are done, and how processes are conducted in the healthcare environment. For this reason, nurses will need to equip themselves with change-management skills to be able to remain proactive in the face of chaos and rapid changes. Such skills will make it easier for nurse leaders to adapt to change, and empower the workforce to remain proactive.

If nurses are able to equip themselves with these skills, then they will be better-placed to deal effectively with the challenges posed by a rapidly-evolving healthcare system.

Question 3: The Importance of Curiosity in Leadership and Management

A 2015 survey by PWC involving over a thousand CEOs revealed that open-mindedness and curiosity were the two attributes that CEOs need most to succeed in these turbulent times (PWC, 2015). These findings mirror the views of Dell Corporation CEO, Michael Dell, who when asked in a recent interview what attributes he thought were most relevant to leaders in these challenging times, mentioned curiosity and flexibility (PWC, 2015b). These illustrations prompt one to wonder what exactly the role of curiosity in leadership and management is.