The Leadership Gene: Leaders are not made. They are exposed.

There is a thriving business out there based on self-helping people to “become leaders.” I think there is value in this type of education. On the other hand, I don’t believe that everyone has a leader hidden inside. And that’s OK. We are not all born to lead, and in fact I have worked with many folks who are not interested in leading. And that’s OK. Others have what it takes, but are not motivated to take a leadership role even when it presents itself. And that’s OK. The point is, you can’t teach someone to lead. But leaders can be honed once the leadership gene kicks in.

Yogi once said of his mentor, Bill Dickey,  “Bill is learning me his experience.”  In short, you can’t lead from a recipe.  Education does not trump natural ability and. experience.  Theoretical concepts emerge naturally in leaders; they are not learned and then applied.  That is not a pleasant fact.  But it is true.

The best leaders in my experience have been those whose leadership ability emerges through a natural evolution. We often call it “working your way up the ladder” or something similar. What that means is that it isn’t likely that you will wake up one morning and realize that you are a born leader and that others are ready to follow you. Rather, over time, you build your leadership skills through hard work and hard knocks. People will follow naturally. Or not.

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