Discussion-Are Leaders Born or Made?

Top-level managers have a greater need for interpersonal and decision-making skills than technical skills. Middle-level managers have a balanced need for all three skill sets. First-level managers have a greater need for technical and interpersonal skills than decision-making skills. So, are leaders born or made?

You may think this is a trick question, because many leading experts argue that the answer is both. Research concurs, "effective leaders are not simply born or made, they are born with some leadership ability and develop it" (Lussier & Achua, 2012). If leaders were born and skills could not be developed, leading business schools would not be teaching leadership, you would not be taking this course, and major corporations would not spend millions of dollars on leadership training each year. Of course, all of this is highly subjective and argued among scholars and leadership specialists all over the world.

Using the module readings, Argosy University online library resources, and the Internet, respond to the following:

Do you believe that you are a born leader? Do you believe that you can develop your leadership skills to improve job performance? Give some examples to illustrate your point.

Describe a specific instance of leadership you or some other leader displayed when performing a figurehead, leader, or managerial role. For each of the three roles, be sure to identify the leader, the role by its name, and the specific instance. Did the behavior have positive or negative consequences? Why? How did this affect your future performance?