The concept of a born leader is something that gets thrown around in many different professional settings. You may see it in sports all the time when casters pick on a player and say that they’re a born leader that everyone follows blindly. The same is said in more traditional work environments. There are people in certain management roles that often get picked because they’re seen as born leaders.
It makes you wonder, can anyone be a leader? If you are not a born leader, does this mean you’re destined for a life on the sidelines, always being led?
The simple answer to this is yes, anyone can be a leader. If we take a deeper dive into things, you’ll notice that the concept of a born leader doesn’t really make sense.
What is a born leader?
The idea that someone is born and will naturally be a great leader is a fallacy. The more you think about it, the sillier it seems. People aren’t born into leadership and management, they develop the skills necessary to take them to these places.
All of the people that seem like natural-born leaders are, in fact, regular people like you or I. The only difference is that they have undergone some sort of training to give them the qualities that make a great leader.
Sometimes, this training is deliberate. However, it can often be something they pick up as they go through life. A child that’s born into a family with two parents that are managers and good at leading people is bound to pick up some common traits. They are going to copy what their parents do, and this makes them good leaders in the future.
Whether deliberate or accidental, leaders aren’t born; they’re made.
What makes a good leader?
Good leaders can come from different backgrounds, be of different genders, and have different experiences. Nevertheless, they all tend to possess some similar traits that make them great at leading people.
According to a Forbes article, there are ten traits of successful leaders:
- Have faith in your beliefs
- Make the hard choices
- Earn the respect of the team
- Know the team
- Know that people are the key to success
- Articulate a clear vision
- Push people to be their best
- Serve a greater cause
- Focus on helping the team
- Never lead by force
If you’re somebody that wants to advance to leadership roles and become a good leader, these are the key traits to think about. When you look down this list, the idea of a born leader becomes even more farfetched. Nobody is born with these qualities or principles; they are things that you have to learn.
So, in summary, anyone can be a leader if they put their mind to it. Just because someone doesn’t see you as leadership potential right now, it doesn’t mean you can’t develop into a fantastic leader. Focus on developing the key traits needed to lead, and you will soon build your confidence and prove that you are more than capable of leading others at work.
Interesting Related Article: “The 10 Steps to Becoming a Great Leader“