Are Leaders Born or Made? Extroversion, Communication, and Self-Awareness
This paper examines the longstanding debate over whether leaders are born or made, arguing that excellent leadership is neither purely innate nor purely acquired but a hybrid of both. Drawing on personality and leadership research, the paper identifies extroversion as the most consistently documented innate trait associated with leadership effectiveness, citing its links to assertiveness, warmth, and interpersonal connection. It then turns to two critical learned skills — communication and self-awareness — demonstrating that both can be deliberately developed regardless of one's natural disposition. The paper concludes that while extroversion may give some individuals a head start, no single trait guarantees great leadership, and intentional skill development remains essential for anyone seeking to lead effectively.
- Introduction: Leadership as a Hybrid: Leadership combines innate ability and developed skill
- The Extroversion Pillar: Extroversion as the key innate leadership trait
- Learned Skill: Communication: Why communication must be deliberately developed
- Learned Skill: Self-Awareness: Self-awareness as the most critical learnable leadership quality
- Conclusion: Innate and acquired qualities together define great leaders
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What makes this paper effective
- The paper frames its argument around a clear, falsifiable thesis — that leadership is a hybrid of innate and learned qualities — and returns to this framing consistently throughout each section.
- It draws a useful analytical distinction between innate traits (extroversion) and learnable skills (communication, self-awareness), giving the paper a clean, parallel structure that is easy to follow.
- The paper avoids false dichotomies by acknowledging exceptions — for example, noting that extroverts are not automatically good communicators — which adds nuance without undermining the central argument.
Key academic technique demonstrated
The paper effectively synthesizes multiple cited sources to support a single integrated argument, rather than treating each source in isolation. By weaving together findings from personality psychology (Costa & McCrae, 1991; Judge et al., 2002) and applied leadership research (Riggio, 2009; Luthra & Dahiya, 2015), the writer builds a cumulative case rather than a simple list of opinions.
Structure breakdown
The paper opens with an abstract that previews all three key findings, then expands each in a dedicated section. The introduction establishes the thesis and qualifies it. Three body sections follow a consistent pattern: introduce the concept, cite supporting research, and address a potential counterargument or nuance. The conclusion restates all three pillars and closes with an open-access claim about skill development.
Introduction: Leadership as a Hybrid
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 inborn talent — or compensate for the lack thereof. Experts will perhaps always disagree about how many parts natural ability versus how many parts effort excellent leadership consists of, and that is 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. Excellent leaders have to do things that are fantastically complex, and they often need to depend on innate skills they have always possessed — such as personal warmth — alongside other skills they have been forced to develop over time, such as communication.
The Extroversion Pillar
While there is much debate regarding who makes the better leader — extroverts or introverts — there is substantial research showing that extroverts are more likely to be found in leadership roles (Riggio, 2009). This finding suggests that extroversion is one of those inborn personality traits that makes someone a more natural or more effective leader. It also suggests that people who are extroverts may naturally gravitate toward positions of leadership because they consciously or unconsciously understand that such positions allow them to use their natural talents more fully. Researchers have found a strong link between extroversion and leadership, generally manifested in the ability to be gregarious, proactive, assertive, high-energy, and full of passion and enthusiasm (Judge et al., 2002). Other studies have noted the tendency of extroverts to exude warmth, approachable outgoing qualities, and a sense of genuine friendliness (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 extroverts make such natural leaders is that effective leadership revolves around the ability to get people to follow willingly — to create followers who are loyal and invested in the work they do. Extroverts have the power of communication and vigor on their side, and they often possess an innate understanding of how to connect with people and which words will inspire enthusiasm.
Extroversion is a quality that is innate. While people can be taught to communicate more effectively, they cannot truly be taught to become more extroverted. Extroverted people have natural confidence when meeting strangers, a general affability, and a likeability that makes others gravitate toward them. While extroversion is not necessarily the only quality that makes a great leader, it is consistently identified in research as a core component of the crucial hybrid of innate and learned qualities. Some experts argue that extroversion matters less than the ability to connect with people, but the research is clear: extroversion is consistently found as a trait among 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 is not always the case. "Great leaders are always considered 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 significant difference 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 some people have an innate ability to speak with clarity or to listen attentively, these are qualities that can be developed over time with intention and practice.
It must also be noted that being an extrovert does not automatically make someone a good communicator. Some extroverts tend to "spin" the truth and may make effective salespeople, but they are far from leaders. Great communicators are also fantastic listeners because effective leadership demands it. Leaders need to understand the people around them — what motivates and drives them, as well as what concerns or fears them. All aspects of communication can be learned. It is a crucial dimension of leadership that anyone can develop and begin to perfect over time. Even people who seem like "born communicators" usually grew up in an environment where strong communication was modeled for them early in life. It remains a vital aspect of leadership, and one that is definitively learnable.
Conclusion
Phenomenal leadership is a hybrid of qualities that are both innate and acquired. Excellent leaders, research has shown, are often extroverts, owing to many of the inborn qualities of extroversion that lend themselves well to leadership — qualities such as warmth, friendliness, inquisitiveness, and general affability. These qualities 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 develop and perfect them 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/
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. 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
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
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