Are Leaders Born or Made - Essay Example

? ARE LEADERS BORN OR MADE Submitted By Introduction What is leadership? What does it takes to be a leader? Is it only the charismatic personality? If one is not born with the desired traits are they doomed to be followers always? What leadership is all about? Is it only about inspiring others? Does the much hyped up political or religious leaders are the only kind or there exist many leaders around us in all strata’s of life varying in magnitude. If true than what are the different types of leadership. This paper aims to offer a dynamic theory on leadership development and will study literature examining trait(s) which are argued as genetic, whilst counterargument with the notion that leaders are a lot more made than they are born (Zenger et al 2007, page 5). Discussion In recent times there has been debate over whether leaders are born or these skills can be acquired. Social scientist have attempted to identify the traits, behavior, sources of power or aspects of a situation that makes a leader standout and influence followers to accomplish group objectives. Effectiveness of a leader depends a lot on his following i.e. how the followers follow. What is leadership? Humankind has been pondering over this issue for about three thousand years and after over hundred years of academic research we have not yet reached the consensus. Many books have been written over this topic. By the end of 2009 the no of books written on leadership were 53,121. In a short span of time we will literally have more books on this topic than the people to read them. It tells not only the importance, relevance of this topic but also the complexity associated with it. There is no consensus on the definition of leadership as well simply because it is not required. However there seems to exist four areas of dispute around which theory of leadership revolves namely person, process, positional and result. Personal approach associate leadership with the person this approach is usually derived from autobiographies. Others define it as a process, the process through which information which is contradictory and undigested is made sense of. It is basically the style that leaders adopt. Positional approach is based on authority. It is the ability to exert pressure and get things done. Result approach is based on mobilizing a community or group of people to achieve a purpose. Thus leadership can be defined in various ways. It strengthens our argument about its complexity. 1(Keith Grint, 2010) What leadership is all about? Is it only about influencing others? How can we differentiate leadership from other means of authority such as power, dominance, and authority? Leaders inspire their followers and make them do things which otherwise they would not do because followers have trust and faith in their leaders. There are certain myths about leadership which needs clarification. An identification of essential elements and skills provide the basic framework required for success. A simple and unique not basic, explanation of leadership procedure Insight into the rationale of leading. Sound understanding of the organizational context in which one intends to lead Appreciation and ability to grasp opportunities and unique challenges innate in every situation. Clarity and transparency about ones leadership role, what one possesses priori to exercising leadership Savvy and successful leaders build their own agenda based on their skills and capabilities, reflecting self learning and knowledge and a healthy respect for challenges, opportunities and risks. 2(Joan V. Gallos, 2008) Leadership cannot be confined to political or social life only. It is as much needed in our business world as in any other walk of life. It is a widely accepted fact that leaders play a pivotal role in organization’s success. It is a critical factor in enabling organizations to adapt to its environment readily, surviving and thriving by successfully implementing organizational strategy. Based on vast research three themes about human behavior have been identified in which leaders behavior is vital and can act as driving force in successfully formulating and implementing organizational strategy. These three themes are intentions, influence and information. 3(Tom Barker, 2006) Henry Mintzberg said about leaders, “leaders can do a lot more than they cure, connect a lot more than they control, demonstrate a lot more than they decide. It’s time to bring back leadership and management back together and down to earth”. Leader are born, this notion is based on only one form of leadership i.e. charismatic leadership. According to Martin Luther King leadership has its roots on charisma and other personal traits of the individual considered a leader. According to him leadership paradigm is formed upon personal capability of charismatically vision, take actions and influence people ahead. But fortunately leadership has much more to it than just charismatic personality. Development of different theories about leadership explains this viewpoint. Here is a brief review of all the leadership theories development. 4(Peter Guy Northhouse, 2010) Trait theory Behavioral theory Situational contingency theory Transactional theory Transformational theory Trait based theory is one of the earliest theories of leadership. This theory is based on the concept that leaders are born with these traits and these traits are possessed by only great people. These traits were viewed as necessary for success and effectiveness of leadership. It was believed that organizations should select the right people with born traits of a leader because these traits are part of the personality so they will emerge in every situation and be applicable to all circumstances. Believers of this theory argue that organizations should select leaders instead of trying to develop leaders. The traits identified were as basic as height and as complex as intelligence. The major weakness of this theory is that it is very difficult to isolate a set of trait that is characteristic of leaders. Behavioral theory emphasized on pattern of actions used by different individuals determines leadership potential. Different kind of behaviors identified in this theory was autocratic, democratic and laissez-faire. It also included Michigan studies which discussed employee centered versus task centered theories. Situational contingency theory was a combination of trait theory and behavior theory. Both are important aspects but must be taken in situational context i.e. situation matters. According to this theory group effectiveness depends on a perfect match between leadership style and situation. There is no one best solution and it focuses on ability and willingness of followers. Transactional leadership theory was proposed by Karl Kuhnert and Phillip Lewis. It is based on the theory of exchange; a transaction takes place when each party gives up something in exchange of other. It is the relationship between superiors and subordinates on mutual give and take. Leaders offer something of value such as benefits etc in exchange of extra work overtime special projects etc. transactional theory is based on contingent reward and management by exception. 5(Hair Dan O, 2008) Transformational theory focuses on achieving goals by more than just communication. It involves charisma, vision, sense of mission, inspiration, high expectations, intellectual stimulations which promote intelligence. According to this theory leader gives personal attention, coaches and give advices in short individual consideration is given. Successful transformational leaders posses, self confidence, dynamic personality, strong conviction and talent of motivating others. This type of leadership is value based i.e. leading by means of example and inspiring others. Importance of leaders and their need always exist but the in today’s fast changing and highly competitive world their importance and need has increased manifold. Globalization and the resultant constant, accelerating and unpredictable change demands better leadership. Despite this glaring need most of the organizations instead of encouraging people to lead and learn from their mistakes often ignore this talent. Very few people possess this talent, however with cautious selection of employees, developing and encouraging many people can be groomed to play leadership roles in key positions. Successful and proactive organizations don’t wait for the arrival of leaders, rather they aggressively search for people with leadership potential and groom them through experiences and trainings designed to develop that potential. The organizations who intend to grow leaders should give potential leaders the chance to lead. 6(John Adair, 2006) Bibliography( Part 1) 1(Keith Grint, 2010, Leadership: A Very Short Introduction, New York, Oxford University Press) 2(Joan V. Gallos, 2008, Business Leadership, San Francisco, Jossey- Bass) 3(Tom Barker, 2006, Leadership for Results: Removing barriers to success for people, projects and process, USA, ASQ Quality Press) 4(Peter Guy Northhouse, 2010, Leadership: Theory and Practice, California, Sage Publications) 5(Hair Dan O, 2008, Strategic communications in Business and Professions, New Delhi, Dorling king) 6(John Adair, 2006, How to Grow Leaders: The Seven Key Principles of Effective Development, London, Kogan Page) Part 2 Investigate the Operationalisation of Management and Leadership Development into Practice, Based on the Key Ideas Identified in Part 1 After studying the conceptual ideas and theories based around the study of contemporary management and leadership development (MLD), a case study will be discussed to study how managers today base their management and leadership styles around some of these theories in practice. Research has proved that if we tie leadership development to business strategy and need of the business it results in excellent organizational growth. The pressure to integrate leadership development activities and initiatives in the overall strategic objective of the business is the most important and overarching trend in recent history. 7(David Giber, Linkage Inc, 2009) Case Study Rolls Royce is a technology leader which employees 36,000 people in offices, manufacturing and service facilities operating in 50 countries. The company has long history of employee development but currently they are reexamining their development strategy. In 2005 a review of talent management which was uptill now being managed locally within business units was done and new concept of talent management at global scale was introduced. After reviewing their current policy and assessing its strengths and weaknesses they charted out these steps for their global talent management program. A new stream of graduates known as leadership graduates, were identified and hence a pool of graduate leaders was established. Succession planning was based on high potential pool to ensure moves across silos. Four key pools identified were early career, leadership, specialist and senior executives, all feed into group executive succession plan. Every member of succession plan was required to have a personal development plan. Size of each pool was identified with clear entry and exit signals. Clear guidelines regarding role and expectations from line managers. Creation of global HR data and system by creating a global focus for HR. Revitalizing of talent strategy so that individual goals, team goals and strategic organizational goals are perfectly aligned. Map was created for each employee and position to cover all possible opportunities available to a manager. Aspects of career development plans were promoted and communicated to employees. Ensure that there is no conflict of roles and right skill sets are identified. Career coaching and mentoring became mandatory. All these steps helped tremendously the company to achieve its global focus on leadership development. 8(Jane Yarnall, 2008) Conclusion A critical analysis of these leadership theories revealed that leaders are not born but are made. To become a leader one needs the potential which through nurturing and development can blossom into successful leadership. There is sufficient evidence from companies and organizations to suggest that the training programs and leadership development activities carried out are fairly successful in improving leadership skills. I think we can conclude that successful leadership is a combination of natural traits and acquired talent. Bibliography 7(David Giber, Linkage Inc, 2009, Linkage Inc’s best practices in leadership development handbook, New York, Wiley Publications) 8(Jane Yarnall, 2008, Strategic Career Management: Developing your talent, Oxford, Butterworth Heinemann) Read More