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Leaders; Born or made ??
By: Carl E Berentsen
Most Management gurus or analysts agree on
two fundamental aspects about leadership;
Firstly, that It is hard to define, but secondly:
We all know it is there when we see it...
One common ambition shared by all young
and developing managers is to become a leader;
good, bad, popular or unpopular? Not
always in that order, but nevertheless: A
Leader.
However, A basic question still remains in
dispute: Can leaders be made, or are they
born to lead?? Those of us who are (or have
been) in leading positions all know the two
main schools of thought which mostly are
subjectively defined to justify one’s own success,
ambitions or position in a leading role:
Either by those who are striving to become
leaders who believe that leaders can be made.
Or, on the other hand, those who are already
in leadership positions claim that they are
born to lead – even if they required some coaching
on their road to reach where they
are...This is rather evident in most cases as
Leadership tends to preclude self doubt (or at
least any public acknowledgement of it).
The wide spectrum of literature on the subject
of leadership easily shakes the two diametrically
opposite theories on how to get there
(i.e. either through hard work or simply: by
natural abilities ); The characteristics that
define the transition from being a “follower”
to a “leader” tend to focus on a blend of skills
30 Prosjektledelse nr. 2 -2009
and abilities taken from both the two theories:
One important quality is successful decision
making skills, but equally important; solid
communication abilities. Whether you are a
Natural or a Taught leader, you will not climb
to the top without a mixture of vision, sense
of responsibility and technical proficiency.
None of the above traits are either 100%
learned or simply 100% donated by Mother
Nature.
Guess what?? Successful leadership ( at least in
the free world) is not defined by the leader,
but: by the followers. Therefore, a fundamental
rule which good leaders should always
remember is that leaders must inspire trust in
those who have to follow them.
Listen to the Real Leaders talk:
•Steve Bechtel Jr; Or the founder of the
world’s biggest engineering and construction
company, was, and remained throughout his
nearly 70-year career, a visionary whose imagination
was fired by grandiose projects--the
more seemingly impossible the better.
His motto, endlessly repeated, was "We'll
build anything for anybody, no matter what
the location, type or size." Through this
motto and with immense success, he built
trust. Trust and quality were transmitted
through his family company’s leadership
image. For those of us who were fortunate to
work on internationally remote or centrally
placed mega projects under Steve’s leadership
recall this and another unique, but fundamentally
basic, unwritten rules of his: “make
the wife happy”. This guaranteed further
respect for this giant global management leader,
and ensured that we never slept on the
job. His portfolio even includes an entire city
(Jubail, Saudi Arabia). Bechtel built projects
in 140 countries and on six continents
It has been said, hyperbolically perhaps, that
Bechtel engineers changed the physical contours
of the planet more than any other
humans. For those of us who proudly recognize
the catchy logo with the Globe spot it
on hard hats on remote Indonesian Islands
through Euripean Capitals and Middle East
Cities and Airports, and the confident words
of a true leader vibrates: “We will build anything
for anybody”...and he still does.
•If we are talking creativity and ideas, Bill
Gates is an American unoriginal. He is
Microsoft's chief and co-founder, he is the
world's richest man, and in his career as a
leader he delivers this message:
It can be wiser to follow than to lead.
Through this policy he confirmed that ability
and success are built not only on technical
innovations, ut also on trust, cooperation
and communication.
•Today’s most powerful and important leader:
President Obama , early in his political
career said: "Real leadership for rural
America starts with one simple principle:
“listening,"
•Donald Trump, clearly a leader, not only
known for his wealth and famous phrase:
“You are fired”, but also the author of: Think
Like a Champion”, also believes in fundamental
rules of respect in leadership:
“Experience taught me a few things. One is
to listen to your gut, no matter how good
something sounds on paper. The second is
that you're generally better off sticking with
what you know. And the third is that sometimes
your best investments are the ones you
don't make.”
•Lee Iacocca: In his last book: “Where have
all the Leaders gone”? the ex Chrysler CEO
defines credentials of good leadership
through his “Nine Cs of Leadership “ (He
said: I did not want 10 commandments, as I
cannot compete witj Moses..) as follows:
1) Curiosity
2) Creativity
3) Communication
4) Character
5) Courage
6) Conviction
7) Charisma
8) Competency
9) Common Sense