Leaders - Are they made or born?

"He is a born leader" - a very common one liner used during farewells & toasts. While the organizations always boast of their leadership programs which they believe can create leaders; there is equal disagreement that leaders cannot be created but are born with certain traits. Of course we cannot completely ignore the efforts of organizations towards the same but does it mean an organization can turn anyone or everyone into a leader! On the contrary, should an individual be born with special virtues to be a leader! Cannot anybody or everybody become a leader! Though both questions may appear to be simple & similar yet they are poles apart. Though our mythology sheds some light on this question through the characters of Arjun & Ekalavya; but does that completely bring clarity to the question “Are Leaders born or made?”

Let’s see if we can answer the same through this small story.

Once upon a time, while the apples & berries were only meant to be fruits, flying in air was a dream to many, entertainment only meant playing with friends in the neighbourhood and waiting week long to watch that favourite comic on TV; there was a cute little boy named Prem.

He was as lovely as his name and the whole environment around him was always filled with fragrance of love & warmth. His loving parents, beautiful sister & the naughty friends were all his world; running around and playing; although a routine but was never boring to him as he was discovering himself & the world around; dreaming to grow big, explore every bit of it thinking that life would always remain as beautiful & comfortable as it was.

Only to find out one day the struggles of his parents to ensure they have such a beautiful, comfortable life and a better brighter future. For the first time he realized that there are efforts of sweat and marks of sacrifice behind the showers of blessings he enjoyed.

Though the voices echoed in his ears to blame it on the middle class mediocrity, social & economical hierarchies and continue in his world of fantasy & soothing; yet he never yielded to those temptations. Rather, started wondering of how he could make a difference; Since that day, the whole world started appearing as a challenge that needs to be conquered.

He was looking for some weapon or source from which he could derive his strength to chase those blues away. He was not looking / waiting for his fictitious hero to come from world’s beyond and sail him through this but rather started searching within for that deliverer who could set his oppressed dreams free.

Education alone appeared to him as that reachable weapon which could help him overcome all the shortcomings consciously ignoring his circumstantial drawbacks of a village set up or a non-convent exposure.

The casual approach that has been hailing him thus far started fading away and he started putting his heart & soul into everything he was doing. A quote from his favourite book Bible - "Do you see a man skilful in his work? He will stand before kings; he will not stand before obscure men." always motivated him. He started excelling at everything he did & the strong man inside him started becoming familiar & clearer to him.

Complaining less of his circumstances; he grabbed every opportunity life threw at him to learn, develop and excel. Every small conquest further increased his urge to conquer more. The very sight of his father's tight brows relieving into a relaxing bow of joy & pride further propelled him.

He continued his hard work until finally one day his school, the local elite, friends & relatives started recognizing his achievements & passing on the applauds to his parents. The local media took this as an opportunity to introduce a not so commonly heard name in the locality, The Indian Institute of Technology & how a village boy fighting all the odds around could cut down the distance between his village & the country's pride.

That village boy continues his conquering spree in his self-declared war against the poverty, middle class mediocrity and in the process inspiring & encouraging many such little boys to unleash their inherent strength and conquer such not so uncommon enemies. 

Though this story may not directly answer the question of whether leaders are created or born but gives interesting insights into the answer.

This little boy refused to give in to the temptations of blaming the circumstances, situations & external factors around and bury himself in the despairs of life but took every opportunity to identify that leader/ deliverer with in him & strengthened him further on. Was he able to do this all alone? Was there any organization/ university that supported him in achieving this feet?

Though the role of a university / organization may not appear so vividly in this story; but we can never ignore the perennial presence of the best university around him - The Universe.

 Yes, the universe always exists, ready to teach, coach & train us into great leaders; The universe around us provides us the best of the Leadership programs; these programs are very dynamic unlike the structured syllabus our universities offer.

Have we ever felt as if the whole universe is conspiring against us?? and at some other instances where the whole universe is complementing & supporting us in our achievements. Does it mean, the universe shifts between these two poles of conspiring & complementing?

Of course No. The answer is very clear, it is up to us of how we use the dynamic program of the universe to evolve, emerge as a leader.

Drawing analogies from this as an attempt to answer the above question; there could be the best of programs an organization can offer but until the person determines to become a leader; that’s ineffective. In continuation, if a person determines to be a leader; he takes every opportunity in molding himself into a better leader; growing from strength to strength.

Leaders can never be manufactured & at the same time one need not possess special virtues by birth to be a leader

Leaders can never be manufactured & at the same time one need not possess special virtues by birth to be a leader. Does the question still remain unanswered?

Here is my answer to this question; Leaders evolve & continue to evolve. Leaders are leaders because they wanted to be. It’s a conscious effort and choice one makes to stand against the odds around and swim against the currents to work on every such opportunity that help them evolve as better leaders and when the organizations bring in structural learning & training to these leaders; it adds to their effectiveness.

The answer is not either of these but a beautiful synergy of both with much credits to the individual’s commitment to evolve as a leader. He works on himself & allows the opportunities to work on him that he may emerge stronger. How deeper will the clay allow the potter; so better will it evolve as a master piece.

I am sure, there are many such little boys & their little stories behind many successes we witness around. Sundar Pichai or Satya Nadella stand as tall testimonials to this synergy whose commitment to evolve as leaders were propelled by the organizations thus were able to influence & impact the world around.

 I am also double sure that such a little boy exists in each one of us trying to make a difference to self & world around. It only takes a paradigm shift in looking at things around & I wish this new year brings many such opportunities to each one of us thus help us evolve as a Leader.

Feel free to share that little boy in you to the world around and inspire others discover their little boys by commenting below.

P.S: Hi! Thanks for reading through this article. I feel good to capture my thoughts, channelize them & bring them onto paper. Writing is a habit i developed recently and am encouraged by the positive feedback of readers & hence pursuing this further.

You can find other articles of mine in the links below.

On Leadership:

Indian Automotive Ecommerce

Happy Reading and continue to share your feedback :)