LinkedIn has an enormous discussion group in the shape of the Leadership Think Tank.  In truth, I feel frustration when I read the number of abstract discussions about leadership and I have come close in recent weeks to signing out of the group.  I’d love to see more concrete discussion about the day-today concerns and challenges of real leaders.  And, as theory goes, I’d love to see a more robust set of discussions, rooted in deep thinking and observation of what’s actually true rather than – well, off with the fairies!

Notwithstanding my frustrations I am still a member of the group and, today, I chose to respond to the age-old question:  Are leadership qualities something you are born with?  Or can they be learnt?  There are many things to be said about this but for today, I chose to focus on the question itself.  This is what I wrote:

Is there a false dichotomy here – EITHER you are born with leadership qualities OR you learn them? What I observe is that people are born with certain qualities and yet they may not be aware of them and develop them. One reason for this is because they conclude they need to develop other qualities (as a result of family influence, education etc.). So, one thing that makes a great leader is a recognition of the qualities one has and then the development of skills, competencies etc. which support those qualities. Another way of putting this is to say that people become (“great”) leaders when they recognise, develop and leverage the leadership qualities they already possess.