True Leaders: Made or Born?

[Sam988]

I have been thinking a lot lately, what does it take to be a true leader (in fields like business, politics and society in general)?

Can a True Leader be made or is he just born being one?

Think of True Leaders as Jesus, Buddha, Alexander The Great, Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, Jeanne d'Arc, Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, Franklin Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill.

On the other hand, there are the average leaders. Anyone can become an average leader, all it takes is some energy to do tasks and the right circumstances, like being the manager of a company, or being the captain of a football team, or having a lot of knowledge in a certain area where others don't. Average leaders' followers might dislike them, might disdain them, might disrespect them, might fear them. It's easy to learn to be one. That's why currently the experts' paradigm is that leaders can be made, while years ago they thought leaders were born only. I think there is a misunderstanding here between experts. Some of them are talking about average leaders while others talk about true leaders.



Here's what i think it takes to be a True Leader:


Boldness: A true leader is bold. He is defiant when he needs to, is fearless in challenging ideas or concepts he knows are wrong. Being bold does not mean to be rebel, but rather to have the courage to change what's not right. Boldness is highly associated with self-confidence/reliance. The true leader has an easier time being bold because he is sure that his convictions are right.

Can it be Learned? Hardly. Someone who wasn't born bold will have a hard time to learn how to be it. It demands a lot of energy to be bold unnaturally, and until the habit is developed and implemented in the values core, it will take months, at least. Most people who try will probably just give up in the middle of the way or forget about it, given the enormous amount of everyday focus that is needed.


Self-Confidence/Self-Reliance: Similar to boldness, this characteristic is always there in every true leader. Being confident does not mean to be cocky, but rather to be sure of one's own capabilities and not allow oneself to be shaken by external critics, unless the critics are constructive; in this case, the true leader has enough confidence in himself to admit he was wrong. A cocky leader would never admit himself to be wrong.

Can it be Learned? Yes. I don't know if it's possible to get to extreme self-confidence like true leaders have, but it is certainly possible to get close to it. There are many ways to become more self-confident, i'm too lazy to list it here, but since we're on this PD forum you guys probably know the methods.


Ease to speak: This also involves public speaking. A true leader has an almost unnatural verbal skill. He debates easily; words flow out of his mouth. And it's not just BS ("bush-♥♥♥♥♥" ), all his ideas make sense, he rapidly organizes the ideas on his head and manages to communicate it extremely clearly. He makes a lot of gestures most of the time, it's a powerful tool he has mastered. He throws humorous comments when he needs to; sometimes to disarm the person he's debating with, sometimes to avoid his own embarrassment.

Can it be Learned? Yes, to some extent. With a LOT of practice. It’s extremely hard to get to a good speaking level. The person must have inherited it to some extent. Verbal intelligence varies from person to person. It can be enhanced, but each one has its limits.


Gook Looks: A true leader has good looks. He is tall and handsome (there are exceptions; napoleon was very short, joan of arc was a woman -commanding armies in the middle age-, and winston churchill wasn't exactly the model of beauty). But it has already been proved by studies that people that are tall and handsome do better in politics than those who aren't. Fact.

Can it be Learned? Some things can be done to improve looks; getting in shape, dressing well, and doing some plastic surgery (just don't turn into michael jackson).


Sharp Humor: Humor is good. The true leader throws humorous lines that have something to do with the current situation; people realize that he just made them up at that moment and admire him even more. As i said before, humor is also great when debating.

Can it be Learned? Yes. To some extent, of course. Some people are gifted comedians, like eddie murphy and jim carrey. But we don't need that much humor; if only making others laugh would get someone successful in politics, bush would be the US president forever. He cracks me up.


Intelligence: This is one of the most important aspects of a true leader. He has high both IQ and EQ. The true leader must have a high IQ, otherwise he won't be able to take the right decisions, and his self-confidence will be blown away. If he keeps insisting on making the wrong decisions, he will be arrogant, and that's not the same as being confident. The confident leader makes the decisions and knows they are right. The true leader also has a high EQ, he knows how to deal with people and take the most out of them be it on an environment like a business company.

Can it be Learned? I really don't know much about improving IQ. It's possible to improve it, but i think there is a limit of improvement. So, for example, one who was born with an IQ of 110, would be able to reach a maximum IQ of let's say 125. I don't know the dynamics of IQ enhancement, so i won't say much on this topic. What i know is that a true leader must have a minimum IQ of 130; he is the visionary, he must be very smart to realize before others, for example, where is a company heading. About EQ, i'm sure one can improve it as much as one is willing to, it just takes a lot of practice, as many other areas.


Energy: The true leader is always enthusiastic about life. His high energy makes others feel great when they are around him. He brings the whole environment's energy up. Optimism is a rule. After all, he is in control of his life, why would he pessimistic about anything?

Can it be Learned? Being always enthusiastic about life isn't very easy to many people. But optimism can be learned. Optimism brings high energy, so i think one can learn it.


Sense of Justice: The true leader shows to everyone that he is fair, that he judges everyone equally, that he wouldn't harm someone without a good reason; he is integer. People admire him for that; they see him as their role model. He might be selfish and not care much about others inside, but he definitely won't show this side of him. But this mask makes him expend too much energy, and once he holds a position of power in society, he tends to show his other side. Picture Hitler.

Can it be Learned? Fortunately, it's easy to most people to hold or just pretend to hold such values. So its not a hard task.


Charisma: The most important characteristic of the true leader after intelligence. Charisma is a mix of many attributes such as humour, good looking, good speaking skills, confidence. Charisma is hard to define, the word comes from the Greek word χάρισμα (kharisma), "gift" or "divine favor," from kharizesthai, "to favor," from kharis, "favor". Is this fascinating attribute really a gift? I don't know. There are many kinds of charisma; people that are charismatic because of their power, money, good looks, personality, and so on. The true leader mixes many of these positive characteristics and creates a super aura of charisma. Even without money and power, his looks, intelligence, wit, and confidence emanate such a charismatic aura.

Can it be Learned? Yes, with lots of efforts. Most people who weren't born truly charismatic will never be, that's the cold truth. There is a magic about the true charisma, the one that really captivates other people and draw others to the reality of the true leader. This is the ultimate attribute. One who has it, goes very far in life, thats for sure. Doors open to him. People want to help the one who's got this powerful charisma. In order to achieve this, one should first have to get the other attributes i stated above, so the chance of achieving this attribute get higher. But when you achieve it, you will know; out of nowhere you will notice people want to help you in everything for reasons that you don't really know. Here's when you feel the real power of being a true leader.



Side Note: I probably didn't state some attributes, i didn't want to make the thread too long. There are many subcategories and informations to add to each attribute, but the thread would get endless if i stated each one.




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Conclusion


Except for good looks, most of these characteristics are present in the true leaders i stated as example in the beggining of the thread. Were they born or did they make a conscious effort to become such leaders?


Being a leader is easy; being a real leader is the hard stuff.


Can you imagine yourself with all the traits of this thread? Inspiring isnt it... One would have the possibility of accomplishing so much stuff in life. The person who carries such a personality and skills outshines others by miles.


Theoretically, with NLP, Personal Development and other stuff it should be possible to get there, but is it really? Theoretically it should... But seems like the void might be too big; there might be not enough time in a lifetime to build such a huge bridge between a normal person's skills and personality and the skills and personality of a true leader.

[Jugga J]

Bound to be both nature and nurture . I look forward to some more elaborate replies on the subject.

[Shamou]

True leaders are alphas… as such they have no other choices but to lead and win… it is ingrained in every fibers of their beings… they were born that way…

However… what could be called pseudo-leaders (leaders by choice or circumstances, and not through genetics) can be self-made… not an easy task… but possible…

PS.- Sam, that was not a post... it's a book that you wrote there...

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[Akashic_Librarian]

A true leader is born. But he is made also by his own choices. Who can tell if Buddha, or Bonaparte would have led like they did, had thier lives been different, we do not know and frankly it is irrelevant. What makes a leader is strength. Wisdom. And courage. If you wear those badges...then step forward.

[Brutha]

But this mask makes him expend too much energy, and once he holds a position of power in society, he tends to show his other side. Picture Hitler.

Hitler did things that he thought were the right thing to do. Before and after he got his power in society.

in this case, the true leader has enough confidence in himself to admit he was wrong. A cocky leader would never admit himself to be wrong.

I haven't read much of the bible myself, but do you think that Jesus admited somewhere he was wrong?
I also think that Hitler never admited he was wrong.

Can it be Learned? Hardly. Someone who wasn't born bold will have a hard time to learn how to be it. It demands a lot of energy to be bold unnaturally, and until the habit is developed and implemented in the values core, it will take months, at least. Most people who try will probably just give up in the middle of the way or forget about it, given the enormous amount of everyday focus that is needed.

Because you don't know how to learn to be bold, doesn't mean that their isn't a way to do so.

Gook Looks: A true leader has good looks. He is tall and handsome (there are exceptions; napoleon was very short, joan of arc was a woman -commanding armies in the middle age-, and winston churchill wasn't exactly the model of beauty). But it has already been proved by studies that people that are tall and handsome do better in politics than those who aren't. Fact.

Besically you are saying: Well those people I think are true leader don't have good looks, but a normal leader archieves better results when he has good looks.
Your conclusion is that by gathering those enough of those factors that make a normal leader a bit better, you get a "true leader".

In general you make the mistake to assume that a "true" leader is better at tactis than a "normal" leader.

Sun Tzu: “All men can see these tactics whereby I conquer, but what none can see is the strategy out of which victory is evolved.”

"True" leaders are good at strategy. Strategy counts.

If you look at games like Chess and Go, you find that they are no people who are born good at Chess or Go. But deliberate pratice is also no easy task.

The best shot:
Go to Toastmasters and train public speaking and read (and understand) The Art of War, Greene, Clauseswitz and Machiavelli (maybe add a few additional Asian authors).

Understand your enviroment and join the winning movement (luck plays here a huge part).

[Nelson]

Personaly, I don't believe any single trait or collection of traits "makes" you a leader. Good qualities such as passion, boldness, self confidence can be unleashed in any person.

What defines a leader is purpose and action.

Buddah and Jesus wanted to spread peace, love and enlightenment. Genghis Khan, Hitler and Napoleon shared the purpose of creating enormous military empires. Without this "purpose" they would be no different than your average lunatic.

But the real truth is purpose alone will get you no where. The sign of a leader is action.

From birth we "follow the leader" - we follow whoever goes first. That is a leader's real job: To live his purpose. To go first.

People will naturally follow anyone who has a mission and acts upon it. If your mission is one that affects the world on a global scale then people will come to recognize you as a "great leader".

[MartialDev]

Originally Posted by Sam988

Can it be Learned? Yes, with lots of efforts. Most people who weren't born truly charismatic will never be, that's the cold truth.

I have yet to see the family, army or country lead by a charismatic baby.

(Don't you dare mention Baby Jesus! )

[Shamou]

Originally Posted by MartialDev

I have yet to see the family, army or country lead by a charismatic baby.

Maybe you don't know any country being led by a baby... but I can tell you about one who is being led by a twit...

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[Sam988]

Originally Posted by Shamou

PS.- Sam, that was not a post... it's a book that you wrote there...

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Woke up inspired yesterday. But its gone now

[Sam988]

Thanks for all your opinions.


Just to add: You opinions corroborate my point of view that PD and NLP and all other self help methods have a limit. Just by changing one's mind, the person wont be able to change his whole personality and his life. Appearently then, there's a limit in the shift one can make on his life.

Many self help gurus preach one can entirely change his life, seems like things aren't exactly that way.

[Brutha]

You opinions corroborate my point of view that PD and NLP and all other self help methods have a limit

Neither NLP nor Personal Development are methods as such.

Reading Sun Tzu is personally development. It might not be the thing guru xy proposes.

Just because you aren't able to learn something doesn't mean others can't.

[Shamou]

Originally Posted by Sam988

Just to add: You opinions corroborate my point of view that PD and NLP and all other self help methods have a limit.

Self transformation does have a limit... however it is each individual who determines what that limit will be for him or her...

It is much like education... you determine when yours will stop...

.

[Sam988]

Originally Posted by Brutha

Just because you aren't able to learn something doesn't mean others can't.

Im sorry, i have learning disabilities then.


If you could really learn anything or change anything about yourself, you would be the king of the world by now.

[Brutha]

Originally Posted by Sam988

Im sorry, i have learning disabilities then.

If you could really learn anything or change anything about yourself, you would be the king of the world by now.

Yeah, ignorance really is a learning disability.
But that wasn't the point. When you lack knowledge to do something, you can't conclude that:
1) Nobody else has the knowledge.
2) Nobody else will ever have the knowledge.

In addition I didn't even wanted to be the king of the world, since I don't think that monarchy is the right form of goverment.
In addition learning takes time.
I haven't already spent my ten years to get an expert in something.

[Sam988]

Originally Posted by Brutha

Yeah, ignorance really is a learning disability.
But that wasn't the point. When you lack knowledge to do something, you can't conclude that:
1) Nobody else has the knowledge.
2) Nobody else will ever have the knowledge.

What i meant is not that anybody else will have the knowledge (whatever knowledge you mean)

The main point of my thread (that i found out later ) is that one can learn anything; but since our time on earth might be limited, one might not get to the point one wished to; because there wasn't enough time to learn and change everything one wanted to. Life is a constant learning towards an ideal. This ideal will probably never be reached, but we must try to get there; doing something is better than doing nothing. And in the end, those who tried to get to this ideal will have done far better than those who didn't move towards anything but mediocrity.

Originally Posted by Brutha

Yeah, ignorance really is a learning disability.

We are all ignorant to some extent; we don't know everything ( you dont know everything either, believe it or not ), so that means we are all learning disabled?


Go to Wikipedia and type "learning disability". That should help you on getting rid of your ignorance on the meaning of learning disability's definition.

[seeker5]

Originally Posted by Sam988

Can a True Leader be made or is he just born being one?

Think of True Leaders as Jesus, Buddha, Alexander The Great, Julius Caesar, Genghis Khan, Jeanne d'Arc, Napoleon Bonaparte, Adolf Hitler, Franklin Roosevelt, and Winston Churchill.

Boldness:

Can it be Learned? Hardly.

I know some people who were very risk-adverse and are now very bold. In my own life I have substantially increased my boldness over a period of years, so I see Boldness as something completely learneable. It takes a lot of paradigm shifts, but completely possible to become quite bold.

Gook Looks: A true leader has good looks. He is tall and handsome (there are exceptions; napoleon was very short, joan of arc was a woman -commanding armies in the middle age-, and winston churchill wasn't exactly the model of beauty). But it has already been proved by studies that people that are tall and handsome do better in politics than those who aren't. Fact.

I personally don't feel good looks matters for a true leader. We're talking true leaders here - people like Gandhi, Winston (quite obese), Adolf Hitler (who looked very different from the German view of perfection), Napoleon (short), Benjamin Franklin (have you seen his paintings? hardly flattering at all) and Franklin Roosevelt (in his wheelchair) could not be said to have good looks (basically all those you named whom we've seen pictures or accurate drawing of). Yes, good looks stastically gets you promoted and gets you elected, but we're talking true leaders, not average leaders. Not to mention, you can take someone ugly, give em all the great qualities, charisma, boldness, self-confidence and people will be attracted to them no matter what their physical characterstics are.

Intelligence: This is one of the most important aspects of a true leader. He has high both IQ and EQ. The true leader must have a high IQ.

For me, intelligence is pretty far down on important aspect of a true leader. Joan of Arc didn't need a high IQ, and neither did Gandhi. They followed their intuition and their principles. You just need to know a tremendous amount and be a natural at the area as a true leader you specialize in.

So, in my view, true leaders can and are made. But actually, I don't like the term "true leader" because it implies there is a "fake leader". I prefer the term "great leader" to distinguish them from average leader.

[Shamou]

Originally Posted by seeker5

I personally don't feel good looks matters for a true leader.

This is Pierre Peladeau, founder of Quebecor and billionaire... a tremendous leader who dated a ton of beautiful women... even though he was far from being good looking... and he is far from being the only one in that situation...



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[Nelson]

Many self help gurus preach one can entirely change his life, seems like things aren't exactly that way.
05-29-2007 11:39 AM

Actually that's exactly how things are. You can change any part of your personality and ALMOST any part of your life to meet your exact specifications. Where there is a will, there's a way.

All people who are "great __________" all started out as a baby. They grew up. They developed principles to guide thier life and they (or someone influential to them such as their parents) set their aim on a certain goal. Then they achieved that goal. This part is easier said than done, but it still can be done.

It doesn't matter whether you want to be president of the united states or if you want to become the first man to land on mars - you can make it happen within your lifetime. The Wright Brothers proved flight was possible by man when no others thought it possible (except Da Vinci). Murderers have changed their ways to become good and caring people.

Unless there is something physically holding you back that is uncurable you are completely capable of becoming the person you want to be. No matter what else.

The only reason a "regular person" can't become a "great leader" is because they are not committed. If you don't have a reason why you absolutely MUST become a "great leader" then you probably won't become one.

No one accidently becomes a black belt.

[Shamou]

Originally Posted by Nelson

Actually that's exactly how things are. You can change any part of your personality and ALMOST any part of your life to meet your exact specifications. Where there is a will, there's a way.

All people who are "great __________" all started out as a baby. They grew up. They developed principles to guide thier life and they (or someone influential to them such as their parents) set their aim on a certain goal. Then they achieved that goal. This part is easier said than done, but it still can be done.

It doesn't matter whether you want to be president of the united states or if you want to become the first man to land on mars - you can make it happen within your lifetime. The Wright Brothers proved flight was possible by man when no others thought it possible (except Da Vinci). Murderers have changed their ways to become good and caring people.

Unless there is something physically holding you back that is uncurable you are completely capable of becoming the person you want to be. No matter what else.

The only reason a "regular person" can't become a "great leader" is because they are not committed. If you don't have a reason why you absolutely MUST become a "great leader" then you probably won't become one.

No one accidently becomes a black belt.

That is quite a speech Nelson... however, I'd like to ask you a question... "Do you really... and I mean REALLY believe all that... or are you trying to convince yourself...???"

It's an honest question... no offense or innuendo intended...

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[Nelson]

Absolutely. I believe that I'm going down in the history books. Plus I've applied the principles in my own life to achieve things I want. (Popularity in school, graudating high school a year early) I forsee more great things to come.The principles of modeling, hard work and determination can be applied in almost any situation. There are too many success stories to believe that you cant do or be what you want.

It's easy to give up and say "I can't do it", then go back to watching TV all day. But I believe that if you really work at it with every part of your being, you can achieve almost anything you can imagine.

Even goals that seem daunting can easily be achieved over a large period of time. Through compound interest any young person can become a millionaire saving as little as $100 a month.

I'm not saying that anything you desire is easily attainable, I'm not even saying that every person is up for the challenge. But I am saying that if you are absolutely committed and not physically handicapped you can do or be almost anything.

[Shamou]

Originally Posted by Nelson

Absolutely.

That is fantastic Nelson... it is quite refreshing to see a young person such as you with such enthusiasm and obvious knowledge of the science of success...

I believe you when you say, "I'm going down in the history books." More power to you...

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[Elenny]

Good topic.

I don't think every great leader was born with every trait mentioned here. In fact, many great leaders lack certain things, and they could vastly improve in other areas.

For example:

Bill Gates is not a good looking man. In fact, if you go up and down the Forbes 500 list, I don't think you would find many CEOs that can be classified as good looking men or beautiful women.

[Elenny]

...plus, I think many people have different definitions of what a great leader is. About 30% of Americans still consider George W. Bush a great leader.

[Brutha]

Originally Posted by Elenny

...plus, I think many people have different definitions of what a great leader is. About 30% of Americans still consider George W. Bush a great leader.

That they would still vote for him doesn't mean that they consider him a great leader.

[Shamou]

Originally Posted by Brutha

That they would still vote for him doesn't mean that they consider him a great leader.

Yup... lots of people are masochist...

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[medaille]

I'm dittoing Nelsons post. Any personality trait is a function of the brain. The brain is highly reconfigurable after birth. I don't see any logical reason why someone wouldn't be able to reprogram their brain to achieve any of those characteristics.

The only ones on there that have some physical factors are energy, boldness, and appearance.

Boldness can be aided by increasing your testosterone level by increasing physical exertion, taking risks, and having great sex.

Energy is similar.

Appearance is what it is. Most unattractive people could be much more attractive if they put in the effort.

I'm a little biased on this whole nature vs nurture debate. Who would choose nature? Seriously, believing that you are genetically limited to not getting what you want is about the worst thing you could do. It's an excuse to not put in the work.

[Shamou]

Originally Posted by medaille

Boldness can be aided by increasing your testosterone level by increasing physical exertion, taking risks, and having great sex.

I honestly don't think that boldness and energy can be increased by having "great sex"... I don't know about you girls... but, most of us guys... after great sex... just want to go to sleep with a stupid smile on our faces...

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[Love]

Interesting.
I personally feel that leaders can be made (not to say that some are never born). People really can change rather astoundingly. And one can learn to be bold. I have become way more bold in some areas. Boldness comes from conviction, and as that can be developed, boldness can too.
And frankly, I'm quite glad that leaders can be made. And I don't mean pseudo-leaders. I mean real people, either by will or by fluke, become something great. I echo Nelson, too. Entirely possible.

However, I find that older people tend to think differently. I wonder if it is because they did not accomplish their goals and so think no one else can't?

[Shamou]

Originally Posted by Love

However, I find that older people tend to think differently. I wonder if it is because they did not accomplish their goals and so think no one else can't?

Which older people are you talking about...???

Arnold Schwartzenegger is 60, Donald Trump is also 60, I'm past 60... and anyone of us could kick your butt... j/k

.

[Brutha]

Unless there is something physically holding you back that is uncurable you are completely capable of becoming the person you want to be. No matter what else.

I would suggest that everyone who is physically able to take part in a forum discussion like this is also physically able to become a leader in the 21st century.
Blindness could be a problem, but blind people could still become a leader by developing their rethoric capacities. Today audiobooks and text-to-speech software could help blind people to overcome the disadvantages blind people have because they can't read.
In addition a blind person that would run for office would have some kind of bonus. That person is remarkeable.

Physical disability can provide some people which the reason to do better than average.
In addition it can free time that can be used for extensive study in some field.
Think Milton Erickson or Steven Hawking.