Successful leaders exhibit a series of qualities and characteristics, which drive their success. Whether these qualities are innate, natural, learned or trained is the premise of this work. There is overwhelming research that may be provided to support various schools of thought regarding leadership development. This work will discuss my personal perspective regarding leadership development, examine leadership theory and characteristics in order to evaluate the origin of strong leadership and reflect on the importance of leadership in higher education administration.
Personal Perspective & Theories
The primary leadership theory I believe in comes from John Maxwell and speaks to the dual nature of leadership: leaders are both born and made. I believe that some individuals are born with innate leadership qualities and that those characteristics, though infantile, if cultivated, evolve through lifelong experiences, training and development. Maxwell asserts that born leaders require cultivation: “Leadership is developed, not discovered. The truly “born leader” will always emerge; but to stay on top, natural leadership characteristics must be developed”(Maxwell, 1993 p. viii). Maxwell indicates that individuals who want to become leaders fit into one of four categories: the leading leader, the learned leader, the latent leader or the limited leader.
Maxwell maintains that the leading leader is born with leadership qualities and has seen leadership modeled throughout life. The leading leader has learned additional leadership skills though training and practices self-discipline. The “learned leader” is described with the same characteristics of the “leading leader” with the exception of “being born” with leadershi...
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...is & Thomas, (2002), Dotlich, (2005), Hartman & Harris (1992) and Maxwell, (1993). These studies reported that not only are leaders born and made, but also that genetics, parental influence, adverse life experiences and training and development all affect leadership development.
References
Avolio, B. J. (2005). Leadership development in balance: Made/born. Psychology Press.
Bennis, W. G., & Thomas, R. J. (2002). Crucibles of leadership. ead ership, 60.
Dotlich, D. L, (2005). Adversity: What makes a leader the most . Ivey Business Journal: Improving the practice of management. Retrieved February 16, 2014 from: http://iveybusinessjournal.com .
Eicher-Catt, D. (2005). The myth of servant-leadership: A feminist perspective. Women and Language, 28(1), 17.
Greenleaf, R. K. (2002). Servant leadership: A journey into the nature of legitimate
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In the Leadership Challenge, 4th edition, it is Kouzes & Posner (2007) intention to present a road map for individuals to follow on their leadership journey. The authors stress that “leadership is not a gene and it’s not an inheritance.” Leadership they assert is “an identifiable set of skills and abilities that are available to all of us” (p. 23). They make clear that the “great person” theory of leadership is “plain wrong.” Leaders are our everyday heroes who do extraordinary things on a regular basis (p. 23).
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Leadership is almost entirely gained through experience. Although many personalities are more suitable for leadership or less, like being good at time management (as good) or very quiet (as bad), there is almost nothing in a persons behavior as a leader that comes from external forces
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In conclusion, being a leader may not be all that it is percieved to ...
The vision of leadership that leaders are born made, and not learn to be leaders is still considered but not popular among researchers (Avolio et al, 2013).
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This opens the floodgates to leadership development, as opposed to simple psychometric assessment that sorts those with leadership potential from those who will never have the chance.” This theory does not seek inborn traits or capabilities; rather they look at what leaders actually do.(Changing minds). Behavioural theory suggests that leadership requires a strong personality with a well-developed positive ego; self-confidence is essential.(Boundless,
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As a growing debate, the question at hand is whether great leaders are born with specific leadership traits, or if one can be taught certain traits over time. According to (Wikipedia.com) the approach of listing leadership qualities, often termed "trait theory of leadership", assumes certain traits or characteristics will tend to lead to effective leadership. I believe that leadership traits such as honest, competent, initiative, inspiring, hardworking, intelligent, and the ability to lead the masses, are some of the leadership traits one should possess. Within this paper, I will examine the overall concept of leadership traits, while observing the traits that were, or can be associated with successful leaders.
As Yukl (2010) indicates, such factors (e.g. personality, values and capacities) attributed to a leader. Normally it is widespread acknowledged that someone is born to be a lead...
Leadership is found not just at work but all around us. In any situation, leaders take a step forward and take charge of the situation. It can be at home, at work or at any other place. Leaders are never born, they become leaders because they have the credibility and people would love to follow them.