This was a question posed to the class when I was at the Graduate School of Business in Cape Town. Each student was asked to provide a brief response providing a view of their thinking. This is my view:
With respect to the question? thinking about it from a different angle, we may consider what is needed to teach an individual to become a leader? I think the honest answer would be we dont know. The mere definition of leadership has a very open understanding. Hitler and Mandela are leaders, besides leading people there are very real differences between the two and finding commonality is insanely difficult.
In assessing the specific question:
I believe that leadership cannot be thought (after attending four courses from university and two corporate getaways on leadership), however tools can be provided to an individual to increase the likelihood of him/her becoming a leader.
Some of these tools include knowledge of the environment and people, and intellectual stimuli to generate thoughts around the idea.
I questioned myself whether other qualities mentioned in so many books on leadership, like humility, kindness, direction are ever needed to become a leader and came to the following conclusion. Hitler was a leader, I would not think he was humble or kind. Steve Jobs is considered a leader, his not humble either and in his biography had very little direction in his life. I think it is ultimately based on what type of leader the person is capable and willing to become. You cannot teach a person to be a leader, rather the person can be equipped with the skills to understand if he or she wants to pursue leadership and what type of leadership they would want to pursue. Would they want to be servant leaders like Ghandi, fearful leaders like Hitler, eccentric leaders like Steve Jobs or humble and loving leaders like most mothers.I believe 3 things make a leader:
- An inner drive within a person matched with a personality that fulfills the requirements of a type of leader (compassion for servant leadership, brutality for fearful leadership)
- experiences which have shaped their being (this can be accelerated by a mentor assisting the individual to turn experience into knowledge)
- and opportunity to lead (you can be the best politician, but if no one believes you over Julius, you will not be given an opportunity to be president of the youth league) however you may lead under the guise of another position.
In concluding, hopefully tying all this jumbled ideas up. I believe you cannot teach a person to become a leader, however given a set of tools, opportunities and drive a person can learn to become a leader.