Are Leaders Born, or are they Made?

Leadership Thought of the Day

Last week I found myself in Houghton, Michigan where I had to visit a local Walmart store to pick up a prescription. Typically, anytime I need any medical treatment that requires a prescription, my doctor calls it in to our local pharmacy, and it is a simple matter of driving up to a window, getting the medication passed to me and then getting back about my business. No muss, no fuss. Not so in this case.

First, I had to stand in a line for about 30 minutes, patiently waiting to present my prescription to the local pharmacist. After they wrestled with my insurance card for a while (seemingly they have never seen a Blue Cross/Blue Shield card before), they finally were aligned and proceeded to tell me I could come back in four hours to pick up my filled prescription. You’ve got to be kidding me… Later that day I drove through another snow storm, (I did mention this was in Houghton in February?) where I again stood in line for what seemed like an even longer time, and finally got my medicine. The good news was that this process was taking so long that whatever was ailing me practically cured itself in that time.

I am sure there are a few leadership thoughts buried in that experience, but the one I want to share with you actually happened as I was leaving the store. While standing in the Disney World type line for so long, I could not help but notice that the American flag that adorned the wall of the store, was hung incorrectly. It was draped down the wall with the blue field situated toward the right-hand, a violation of our USA flag display protocol. When our flag is hung in this manner, the field should be positioned to the left-hand side. A personal quirk for sure, but the longer I stood there, the more this error bothered me.

On my way out of the store, an employee, a young man I’ll guess to be in his late teens was standing idly near the exit. I am not sure if he was a greeter, or a bagger or whatever, but he didn’t seem to be tasked at that moment. Walking past him I was compelled to stop and I politely (honestly), informed him of the improper display of the flag he was standing under. He looked me in the eyes and asked, “Would you like to talk to somebody about it?” By this time my fun meter was on empty and I sadly replied, “I thought that I just did.” His look said it all, ‘Look Bud, I just work here, I don’t hang stuff on the walls’. In the awkward pause that followed, he without a clue as what to do about my observation, and me not sure of how far I wanted to press the issue, another young man approached. Same exact uniform and I would say, probably the very same age. Sensing we were discussing something amiss, he cheerfully inquired, “Is there anything I can help you with?” Feeling a refreshing air in his demeanor, I repeated my observation that the USA flag was not properly displayed and that they might want to correct their error.

This young man’s response was totally different. He looked up and exclaimed, “I have seen that flag countless times and I never noticed that! I will tell my manger and I will get a ladder from the back and turn it around.” With a warm sense of renewed faith, I thanked him and proceeded out into the cold.

There is an age-old question in the study of leadership that goes like this, “Are leaders born, or are they made?” Is leadership just a combination of natural traits that lend themselves to one’s ability to motivate others, or is it a learned and practiced set of behaviors that have been forged over time and honed to a desirable skill set? It is an interesting question, with profound ramifications. If they are born, why bother with leadership training? If they are made, why look for natural leadership talents?

To be honest, over the past several years I have been firmly in both camps. There was a time when I felt strongly that leadership was a rare combination of physical and mental traits that are as unique as finger prints. Other times I have completely switched and held the position that leaders are made, and that nearly anybody could become a great leader. How is that for waffling. Could be a job in politics for me yet…

That question arose anew as I drove home and reflected on the differences observed in these two young men. One saw himself incapable of taking action or addressing a situation beyond his immediate task while the other was alerted to a situation and immediately decided to take action, inform his superior and correct the problem. One displayed leadership, the other seemingly void of the inner voice of motivation to take action and make a situation better. I don’t know anything else about these two lads, but I know which one I would want on my team and which one I would pass on.

Was this second young man born with leadership tendencies that gave him the proclivity to take action and to lead? Or rather, did his parents and other influencers in his life train him in such a way that he had the initiative and courage to take action where he observed that it was needed? Was the first employee born void of leadership traits and only saw himself as incapable, ill equipped or unsure if he should take any initiative, or was he never exposed to the fact that life is filled with all kinds of problems to be solved and people he could help?

Today when asked the question, are leaders born, or are they made, the best reply I can muster is, “Yes”. Some people seem to be born with certain attributes that lend themselves to leadership and the ability to motivate and inspire both themselves and others to initiate changes for the better, and for the greater good. Some are born with a “command presence” that helps communicate outwardly with confidence and determination to undertake difficult missions and to emerge victorious. Others however, who are not by nature so endowed, have risen to great heights of leadership. Some of the most powerful leaders I know are classified as “B” type personalities, quiet, reserved and slow to speak.

I suppose that the best way to address the question is this, whether or not you have any natural command traits (the “born”), all leadership requires training, practice, encouragement and the crucible of trial and error practice to become effective leaders, (the “made”).

Today let us make our leadership thought this, we can all make ourselves better leaders with dedication, courage and a willingness to take the risks associated with trying to make this a better world. Along with this, we have the opportunity to invest in our children, our grandchildren, our neighbors and the youth that cross our paths and train them to become great leaders themselves. The mantel of leadership is heavy, it is not to be placed on weak shoulders. All leaders ultimately need to be “made”, and we can help others become stronger and capable of ever-increasing levels of leadership responsibilities as we help make them.

Stay Strong,

Terry

How to properly hang and display the U.S. Flag