“But let’s be careful how we define leadership. A leader may in fact be the person occupying the corner office. But, he or she may too be the person ascending the divisional ranks or the more youthful executive fresh from business school. The concept of leadership must not be confined to just the “headliners”; it must be a concept with the potential to include and apply to everyone.

That is not to say that everyone will become a leader, but rather that everyone does and can possess some leadership qualities. It may be a cliché, but it is an important point: organisations need leaders at every level, not simply at the top. Indeed, every team needs a leader and there are many teams within most organisations. This critical need for leaders exposes a fundamental flaw in our societal approach to leadership training. That is, the training and development of leaders should not start on the job, as it too often does now. Instead, it needs to happen at a much earlier stage in an executive’s career cycle.” There’s hardly a “leadership epidemic”. And it ain’t nature.
BTW Rob is there any part of any person’s behavior that you would say isn’t part “nature, nuture and situation?”

Here is Psychology Today’s take:

Are Leaders Born or Made?
Provided by Psychology Today

Some people are born to move and shake the world. Their blessings: high energy, exceptional intelligence, extreme persistence, self confidence and a yearning to influence others.

After 50 years of collecting data on the topic, most psychologists believe that leadership qualities are innate or genetic and thus impossible to learn. Yet, my colleagues and I presented over a decade of research showing that leadership skills can be developed and mastered.

First, we found that Mom and Dad can instill us with the tools and drive to lead. Both senior VPs in high-tech firms and the military leaders we interviewed had very involved parents who set challenging goals, translated failure into “how to succeed next time” and lived by high standards of moral conduct–helping their kids to appreciate diverse views.

But even if you weren’t prepared early in life to be a leader, we’ve discovered techniques to help you take the helm: Visualize obstacles; set goals and find someone who will hold you accountable to them; seek and incorporate feedback from colleagues; reflect on your best and worst moments; train gradually; broaden your model of leadership to include a full range of styles; and honor high ethical standards.

In a series of five studies, leaders of different ages and levels of experience from around the world participated in workshops with other members of their organizations. Based on this model, the teams developed practical problem-solving techniques and leadership that they successfully deployed over the following six to 12 months. Regardless of whether their skills were born or made, all got the job done equally well.

Bruce Avolio, Ph.D., is director of the Center for Leadership Studies at SUNY-Binghamton and author of Full Leadership Development: Building the Vital Forces and Organization (Sage, 1999).

Lewis,
I fall in the camp that leadership has parts of nature, nuture and situation. It’s a special case of the “fundamental attribution error” sometimes.

1. the exact translation in German of leader is Führer. We know where this went.

2. I have worked and lived in France, Germany and the UK. Nowhere do I remember this craving for leadership. Is this an american thing?

Professor Henry Mintzberg is spot on target here. Everywhere you turn, individuals in organizational leadership positions appear to be more concerned with their “Leadership” than the organization’s success and/or process execution. The leadership Gurus: writers, educators, consultants, etc… have infecting organizations with the belief that Leadership is the answer for all of an organizations shortfalls. We have to get away from the mindset that you can’t have too much leadership.

For a more in-depth discussion, join me at the Leadership Epidemic – http://leadershipepidemic.blogspot.com/

Take care…

John