Birth or Growth?

In a previous post (see: Leadership Styles), I looked at the different leadership styles that a leader needs to be able to morph into when managing a team. The importance of being able to do so is invaluable as each decision or situation will require different leadership capabilities.

Now a different question arises when leaders ask themselves: ‘Am I born a good leader or do I grow into one?’ It is crucial to understand that whilst one can have innate leadership capabilities that might have been good for a certain type of situation or team, one can hardly expect such leadership skeleton to remain good for all types of decisions, situations or teams. Learning and applying the different leadership styles are an integral part of growing into a good leader: noone will instinctively be good in all styles. Our own biases and character will push us towards one leadership style and only learning and self-improvement will allow us to develop other management approaches. Take a look at Ken Blanchard take on the issue in a recent newsletter.

Blanchard on Leaders “Great managers begin by establishing clarity for their people through clear goals, accountability, and personal responsibility.  Second, they intervene appropriately when things are going well—and when things aren’t going well. Third, they adapt their leadership style to what is needed by appropriately identifying a direct report’s development level on a task and then modifying their style to best serve the direct report at that stage.”

Is it clear that self-improvement and continuous learning are part of a good leader’s mindset and only those keeping such an open mind, even with age, can someone truly hope to become a well rounded leader.