Y Ahir

June 13th, 2008

Leaders are not Born

Individuals are born with traits that help them to be a leader. There are many

definitions about leadership. For me, leadership is influencing the other person to perform the

action that you wanted him to do. There are many ways to influence people. Some of them

include rewarding, forcing and brainwashing. There are more than the 3 methods I mention.

Rewarding is technique used in modern era, force was used in past centuries when power was

very important and brainwashing was used in the past and also in present. The ways of

leading overlap in many situations. Some people still use force in slavery and brainwashing

was used many years ago. The technique that is used in organizations is rewarding. If you

want to make progress, you have to perform to get the benefits. From what I think, rewarding

has edge over other techniques. Giving what other person want is the best way to influence

people. I mean you can fulfill the wants of follower to some extent, and you will be able to

lead effectively.

There is no best way or universal formula to lead people. Each one of us is different

from other and we have to know ourselves very well in order to lead effectively. When a

person know his strengths, it will be easy to identify what works for him or to lead

effectively. Knowing the exact field where you as an individual can excel requires lot of

thinking and time. You have to analyze past situations and also the field that attracts you to

have success. Our skills and traits can’t determine whether we lead or not, but they tell us

how we should lead. Other important aspect is being original, be yourself.

All great leaders have different combination of traits. Their way of leading is also

leading from one another. I will talk of several leaders and their way of leading. Everybody

knows Mahatma Gandhi, in India he is known as the “Father of Nation”. He was very

effective leader with great achievements. He was not as charismatic as Barrack Obama or

Nelson Mandela, when it comes to giving speech. The inspirational videos that you see about

Gandhi is about performing actions rather than giving speech. I am not saying that he can’t
give speech. His leadership style relies on Action speaks more than words. He had a very

high level of self-confidence in his beliefs of non-violence. Many Indians were going to take

the violence route to protest but, Gandhi managed to convince them. Besides that he was very

spiritual and that aspect matters in a religious country. Gandhi was highly successful leader

because he puts into practice his beliefs. He even had to go to jail to show the way to his

followers. That kind of action is what made him popular leader.

Adolph Hitler was totally different from Gandhi yet highly successful, which means

you don’t have to do the same the other person did in order to lead effectively. Of course they

were different people so were their personality and way of leading. Hitler was physically a

man of short stature who used power as his main weapon. He is also very effective leader but

many people will not favor him morally or ethically. The way Hitler treat his prisoners and

opponents would scare all human beings. He used fatal violence to induce fear in his

opponents mind. So there are many different ways you can lead. You can use knowledge,

skills, personality, art, etc to lead.

Some people have the skill or charisma to influence others. These groups of people

have one of the potentials to lead but that alone can’t guarantee a person being effective

leader. You may influence a person but that doesn’t necessarily mean that the person is your

follower. Individuals can influence others because of their upbringing or they were born with

the biological trait. You could also master the art of influencing by practicing the skill and

acquiring knowledge about the matter. Leaders from this category just emerge rather than

given the position power in organization. Influencing is related to brainwashing.

All of us have the potential to lead in some method or other. Leadership is not about

dominating human beings. It is about making the other people do what you wanted him to do.

There is no requirement to be powerful or charismatic in order to lead. Once you know your

strong areas and things that work, it will make your job easy to lead. Leaders also have to

follow other people. Let’s say a president of certain country had to make a major decision He

will ask his advisors first before passing the decision. Even little kids lead their parents, when

it comes to acquiring their wants of toys, candy, etc. Kids use parents love and affection
towards them to lead their mom and dad. When a person is a leader, does not mean that he is

an expert in every field and situation. Situations are very critical and you got to adjust

behavior according to them. Finally it depends on the follower whether he really accepts the

leader or not. It is the follower who gives leadership voluntarily to the leader.

Sometimes followers do things because there is a need for them to do what the leader

says. In this kind of situation there is no real relationship between the master and disciple.

Follower just has to follow because he is left without alternatives to select. He will come to

the office daily, do his job and leave when he finish his duty. There are many subordinates in

organizations that have no real relationship with their bosses. The reason for this to occur is

simple; follower just does not want to accept the leader voluntarily. In this situation

relationship is really out, according to the leadership making this a stranger phase. For close

leadership to be occurred it is necessary to have really in relationship between the leader and

follower.

Effective leadership is a relationship between the leader and followers. For the

relationship to be formed it is very important to have Trust, respect & liking. There would be

little conflicts at times. Without trust there is no leadership and personally I think it’s the

most important of the 3 characteristics I mention. Trust should be 2 ways, from leader to

subordinate and vice-versa. When somebody trusts you, it’s a very important different feeling

in itself. When a trust is given probability of getting good result increases, it gives a kind of

boost to the person. You earn right respect through your behavior; position is not all in

getting respect. Respect and liking are very critical in what perceptions people around us

formed. Every one of us knows the importance and effects of perception. Liking is very

personal form what I think. Certain people like individuals with certain characteristics.

Stronger the bond, stronger will be the relationship. Enduring relationship makes leadership

process easy to run. Leaders should also provide flexibility and involve the followers in

decision making to get best results.

It is very important that followers have positive image of their leader in their minds.

Leader is an idol to the true follower. Leaders have to be careful with their behavior. Bill
Clinton was a good U.S president according to many people, but one wrong behavior with

woman called Monica Lewinsky hurt his image badly. I don ´t know whether what happen

was true or not, but people don’t have completely positive perceptions about Mr. Clinton. For

leaders to be effective, they should always keep their image in mind because of the impact it

can have on them.

Finally leaders are not born, they are made. Individuals are shaped by their

environment. We can change our environment and environment change us. Even

personalities change with time. Personalities don ´t alter from one extreme to another, but to

some extent. People personality also goes through changes according to their profession. In

fact our environments in which we grow up combine with our genes determine our

personality significantly. Being a leader is a process and it takes time.