Over the last weeks in class we have discussed traits of a leader, interviewed some one in our community and looked at whether we believe a leader is born or made. Over all my view of a leader has changed, the traits we discussed in class are very much the traits I think a good leader would need. For instance taking charge, being organized, committed and supportive are all good traits of a leader. One thing that has changed in my mind is whether a leader can be made. Before I would have said no way, people are just born to be leaders and to take charge, its in there DNA. However now I would say something different. For some people it might be nature to be a leader, like me for instance I can’t remember a time when I didn’t at least want to lead. As my mom uses to say I was a little bossy from a young age, but that was just the only way I knew how to lead. For other being a leader is all about nurture, growing up and being taught to lead. This I believe applies to everyone. Anyone who is willing can be taught how to lead. Those who are extraordinary leaders are those I believe who take nature and nurture and combined them to become a great well-rounded leader. I now can see that with the help of my mom I was able to be formed in to a good leader I did not just show up on the planet ready to be a dance captain or be apart of a leadership group. I have learned from my mom’s mistakes as a leader as well as my own. I believe becoming better as a person and a leader is all about self-reflection and improvement not matter the circumstance or the difficulty. When I look at the people around me, mostly my peers a see a few different kind of people: those who lead, those who poorly lead because they have no “training”, those who should lead but don’t, and those who would rather fallow. At some point in time I believe every person should be given the chance to lead not matter the size of the job. This would be good for everyone to be able to experience how to be a leader. Through these past few weeks my views of leadership have changed but my view on who could be a leader has changed even more.
Interesting reflection here, Elianah. You have obviously wrestled quite a bit with the question of born versus made, and I think your conclusion reflects where we have landed as a class (and supported by K & P). Leadership can be learned -- and leaders are more made than born -- but clearly some individuals are wired early to take charge. I would remind you again to reread before your post for clarity of sentence structure and grammar!
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