Are leaders born or made?

There have been various leadership theories including one named the "Great Man Theory" by Stogdill (1948) as cited by Hughes et al (2006). The theory as summarised by ChangingMinds.org (2007) suggested that "leaders are born, not made" (ChangingMinds.org 2007, Cawthon 1996: 1). Furthermore, it suggests that "leaders will arise when there is a great need". ChangingMinds.org (2007) goes on to say that because gender was not an issue when discussing leadership, the "Great Man Theory" may have made a lot of sense during this period. One would suggest that due to such a male dominant attitude, other alternative views could not have been allowed to be evaluated. During the 1900's many researchers suggested that leaders and followers had different traits (Hughes et al 2006: 158). However, Sodgill (1948) as cited by Hughes et al (2006) concluded that (1); "leaders were not qualitatively different" than followers and (2); some characteristics "were moderately related to leadership success" (p. 159).

Characteristics & Traits

The online Oxford English Dictionary (1989) defines characteristic as; "to indicate the essential qualities or nature of persons or things; displaying character; distinctive; typical". It also defines trait as "a particular feature of mind or character; a distinguishing quality; a characteristic; spec. of a culture or social group". These two definitions would suggest that they are both emotional things that make someone who they are. One would also suggest that these are things that have either been taught by parents or learnt through experiences. Whatever the method, upon reflection and positive acceptance, this learnt behaviour becomes part of one's characteristics; thus affecting how someone else would perceive one's traits. Hughes et al (2006) and Pervin (1994) both agree that the five factor model of personalities is a good tool for insight into the traits of a leader to help explain why they would consistently act in a certain manner in a given situation.

In addition Hiss (2007) describes characteristics such as height and strength as factors that were perceived as required to be considered a leader. History has many tails of this which have been turned into motion pictures such as Troy, Braveheart or The Patriot to name a few. They were all characters who showed strength in times when lethal action was required. Hiss also suggests that research showed "that almost 80% of the population expects a good leader to be over 6 foot". If this was the case, then some could argue that George Bush of the United States, John Howard of Australia would not make good leaders based purely on their heights. Yet they have been in leadership roles longer than one term. In addition, one has also often heard remarks like "woman do not or should not be in leadership positions". Yet Helen Clarke; Prime Minister of New Zealand seems to be doing a good job; even if she is a woman (joking).

The right stuff

Obviously stereotyping is expected wherever there are multiple viewpoints. Hence it is possible to believe that leaders are usually taller than followers. Society has programmed us from a young age to believe that physical traits define a person. Let's have a look at the modelling industry for example where models un-intentionally tell young girls through their actions that a size 12 is too fat. Or being fit means one needs to look like Arnold Schwarzenegger. That having long hair, dreadlocks or a beard is being irresponsible. That being coloured in some countries means uneducated and so on. Fortunately for humanity, we are learning creatures. As cultures become integrated and societies become more educated, these stereotypical views are frowned upon. People and researchers are now paying more attention to traits such as humility, integrity, honesty, intelligence and responsibility etcetera to identify good leaders.

The focus appears to have shirted back to include the traditional theories. Cawthon's (1996) view is that "the right" (p. 2) "is not equally present in all people" (p. 2). Meaning that individuals are born with certain traits that will enable them to learn and develop into leaders more easily than others; a view that one would agree with. But leadership is required in different quantities hence it does not matter that these traits are not present in everyone. As noted by Hughes et al (2006) having the right characteristics does not guarantee successful leadership, but that it does improve the likelihood of being better accepted and followed by followers (p. 159).

Conclusion

As a self professed new age man, one would have to agree that individuals are in fact born with certain traits whether male of female which determine one's physical and emotional traits. These traits may in fact be further developed during time through experiences. Along the way, individuals will indeed experience, learn, and adapt to new surroundings and environments. In addition, stereotyping is a reality and we must all learn to deal with it until such time the unenlightened will be enlightened. Until then, one would have to agree with the early theorist that being tall has the perception of being a good leader. However, this is based on a view that individuals during this period did not fully understand the mechanics behind the leadership process. There are still groups of people who still identify with this viewpoint and oblivious to alternative thoughts and ideas. Until such time as when they learn to understand the human psychology in more detail, being tall may still be considered a trait of a good leader. One's personal view however, is that hight does not have anything to do with how good a leader is. However, it may help a confident person become even more confident when put on a pedestal by followers who believe that being tall is a good trait to have.

References

[1] ChangingMinds.org (2007) Great Man Theory [Online] Available from: http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/theories/great_man_theor... (Accessed 16 April 2007)

[2] ChangingMinds.org (2007) Traits Theory [Online] Available from: http://changingminds.org/disciplines/leadership/theories/trait_theory.ht... (Accessed 16 April 2007)

Hughes, R.L., Ginnett, R.C., Curphy, G.J. (2006) Leadership: Enhancing the lessons of experience. 5th ed. McGraw Hill: Singapore.

Hiss, A. (2007) HISS-A-GRAM WEEK 2 [Online] Available from Embanet (Accessed 14 April 2007)

Cawthon, D. (1996) Leadership: The great man theory revisited, Business Horizons, 39, (3), pp. 1-4. [Online] Available from: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6W45-45FPG2J-22/2/5432512c... (Accessed 16 April 2007)

Pervin, L.A (1994) A critical Analysis of Current Trait Theory. Psychological Inquiry, 5, (2)pp. 103-113 [Online] Available from: http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=1047-840X%281994%295%3A2%3C103%3AACAOCT... (Accessed 16 April 2007)