Leadership: Are Leaders Born or Made?

Abstract

The aim of this study is to answer the unanswered question of whether leaders are born or made. Traits Theory carries the idea that an individual becomes a leader based on their inherited personality traits and other attributes, and it is seen as a profession of the chosen few. Whereas the other side of the spectrum, Behavioural Theory looks at leaders as people who are made, through training, self-education, opportunity, and life experiences, seeing personality traits as trainable. There are also those who see the grey area between the two theories and see them intertwining together.

This specific question has been the topic of numerous studies and even decades later there has been no universal conclusion to it. The research was done through a thorough theory and literature review that took into account both, older - more historic and recent perspectives on the matter (books, online articles, journals etc.) and analysed the psychological viewpoints that have a clear correlation with the topic. All sources were collected within the criteria of for example publishing date, appropriate content etc. A qualitative case study to establish an in-depth understanding of leadership. The analysis of the mentioned topic clearly showed the differences between the two theories and the simplified viewpoints they support, and how they are intertwined together - meaning that the two theories interact with one another. The study concludes that leaders are born and made - and each leader is his or her own mixture of the two perspectives.