It's crazy how much I have had to answer this question in my almost twenty-three years on this earth. From secondary school classes, to college lectures and group discussions, this topic almost always ended up in an argument.
Are leaders born or made?
For most of my life I would always argue that leaders are born because I thought I was a leader from birth. As I grow as a person and my capacity as a leader, I realise that the answer to this question is not black or white, but is actually grey - and I'm not even talking ONE shade of grey. Its the entire greyscale, if we're being honest.
You see, when I was younger I remained silent when I knew answers to questions asked. I stayed silent when I had a great idea and all round refused to speak up and take charge of situations that needed someone to step in. It's funny how when I speak of when I was younger, I refer to my time infant school (to my UK readers, this is Reception to Year 2). By the end of my time at infant school, through encouragement by my mother [who is a teacher there] and some of my teachers, I realised the power I had. To this day, I'm not sure if my classmates listened to me because my mother was a teacher or because of who I was - either way, I'm grateful they did because it may have been my first boost into the leadership arena.
Over the years I have served in various representative roles at school and in my community (promise I wont give my entire CV during this post). Recently I completed my tenure as President of the Kingston University Law Society and in a few weeks will be ending my tenure as President of Kingston Hub. Both roles required a lot and indeed I learnt ALOT ! Most of my tenure, I tried to implement aspects I was taught during Leading Change, a leadership development course which I enrolled in for the entire of 2018.
This brings me to why I say that there is a grey area to the born or made answer to leadership. Not everyone has the innate skills of leadership, but why do many of us think that we can't be taught these skills? Why do we think that because you're the most reserved person in the room you're not a leader? Since when did being loud mean that you're a leader? I have learnt so much over the years that I did not know when I first thought of myself as a leader (I may have been 8 years old, but that is besides the point). Despite how we are now, we CAN be taught to be effective, positive leaders. It may take time, but like most things, it's a trial and error process. I'm STILL learning more to be a more effective leader. If you know me personally, I hope this comes as a comfort to know that I don't have this leadership thing all figured out.
Personally, I think we also need to go back to the drawing board to look at the image we have painted on how a 'leader' looks. Leaders to me are people who influence us, a definition I've given time and time again. Look at leaders like Steve Jobs or Mark Zuckerberg. These men aren't loud yet, we call them leaders in their industries. We don't all have to be in charge of a formal group like a law society or serve as a rank prefect - these positions are GREAT and present many avenues for skill development - or stand in front of a crowd all the time. Let us look beyond that. Leadership for me now goes down the path of creating a legacy. Formal leadership positions come to an end, and what remains is the impact and influence you have had.
We're all leaders, and once we come to that realisation that you can in fact learn how to be a leader, you will be unstoppable!
Stand in your power, however loud or quiet. YOU CAN DO IT!
If you thought you didn't have it in you to be a leader because you weren't 'born' a leader, I hope this post made you feel better about your capabilities. YOU GOT THIS !
-- Your favourite Unicorn
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