4: Are Leaders Born or Made?

Have you ever heard someone state, “she’s a natural leader” or “he was born for this role”?

We’ve all met those people who seem to be perfect for the leadership role - it appears to come so easy for them. But other people end up becoming excellent leaders even though they never anticipated it.

In this episode, we discuss the age old debate of whether leaders are born or made. Do some people have an advantage in the leadership department, or does everyone have the potential to be a leader?

We talk about some of the research out there about whether leaders are born or developed. We also discuss our experience with this issue and some examples of leaders in the Bible. Finally, we wrap up with 6 tips for you to become a better leader.

For the full show notes for this episode, visit estherlittlefield.com/episode4.

The Research:

Leaders: Born or Made? by Ronald E Riggio Ph.D. - Psychology Today Asking Whether Leaders Are Born or Made Is the Wrong Question by Connson Chou Locke - Harvard Business Review Are Leaders Born Or Made? By Erika Andersen - Forbes The Center for Creative Leadership by: William Gentry, Ph.D., Jennifer J. Deal, Ph.D., Sarah Stawiski, Ph.D., and Marian Ruderman, Ph.D. The God Factor:

Holly and I discuss our own perspectives around this topic and share our take on the question of whether leaders are born or made. We also bring up a 4th factor in creating a leader: the God factor.

God has a way of making leaders out of very unlikely candidates, and we don’t have to look very far in the Bible to find examples of that.

6 Tips to Becoming a Better Leader:

1. Just do it! Take action.  The more experience you have the more you will learn.  “On the job training”

2. Find a mentor

3. Be obedient even when it doesn’t make sense.

4. Become more self-aware (more on this topic in the future)

5. Do a Bible study on some of the unlikely leaders in the Bible  - this helps you to see that God can and will use anyone who is willing

6. Join our Purposeful Leadership Facebook Group - we’re there to support you in your leadership journey!

This episode was originally published on estherlittlefield.com/episode4. To join the Purposeful Leadership Facebook Group, go to estherlittlefield.com/group.