Organisational Success Depends Ultimately on the Qualities of Its Leaders. but Are Leaders Born Successful or Can They Be Trained
“Leadership is one of those things which is almost impossible to pin down in words but which everyone recognises when they see it.”
D.A.S Plastow Group Managing Director Rolls-Royce Motors Limited.
When we hear the word leadership or leader, the first thing some people imagine is a great military commander or king standing in front of his people and issuing orders. If we think about it more closely, we will realize that leadership is not only a creation of ancient history but we deal with it on a regular basis. To find a leader we don’t need to look far, presidents, politicians, business managers, sport stars and even every day people possess leadership qualities. Although the meaning of leadership may seem at first easy to define, but when we try to illustrate it with words it gets a little more complicated. The concept of leadership has been an object of study and fascination for centuries. Although many theories and ideas have been developed, there are many differences in between them. Some theories may seem in conflict with each other, but most of them do possess similarities allowing us to understand the general meaning of leadership and its role.
Upon emerging ourselves into the various perspectives of leadership, we will surely encounter an eternal problem, are leaders born or can they be trained. Or as Dr Cyril Levicki stated in his book, the question can also be formed as a “debate between nature and nurture”. In order to even begin answering that question, we must first define what leadership really is and what the characteristics of a great leader are.
Leadership is a universal human phenomenon. Through anthropological research on primitive groups all around the world H. L. Smith and Krueger stated in 1933 that leadership occurs universally among all people regardless of culture. However, as in the words of James MacGregor Burns, “leadership is one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth”. (Bass, B.M. 1981)
D.A.S Plastow Group Managing Director Rolls-Royce Motors Limited.
When we hear the word leadership or leader, the first thing some people imagine is a great military commander or king standing in front of his people and issuing orders. If we think about it more closely, we will realize that leadership is not only a creation of ancient history but we deal with it on a regular basis. To find a leader we don’t need to look far, presidents, politicians, business managers, sport stars and even every day people possess leadership qualities. Although the meaning of leadership may seem at first easy to define, but when we try to illustrate it with words it gets a little more complicated. The concept of leadership has been an object of study and fascination for centuries. Although many theories and ideas have been developed, there are many differences in between them. Some theories may seem in conflict with each other, but most of them do possess similarities allowing us to understand the general meaning of leadership and its role.
Upon emerging ourselves into the various perspectives of leadership, we will surely encounter an eternal problem, are leaders born or can they be trained. Or as Dr Cyril Levicki stated in his book, the question can also be formed as a “debate between nature and nurture”. In order to even begin answering that question, we must first define what leadership really is and what the characteristics of a great leader are.
Leadership is a universal human phenomenon. Through anthropological research on primitive groups all around the world H. L. Smith and Krueger stated in 1933 that leadership occurs universally among all people regardless of culture. However, as in the words of James MacGregor Burns, “leadership is one of the most observed and least understood phenomena on earth”. (Bass, B.M. 1981)