LEADERSHIP: Learnt or Inborn?

Is leadership an inborn trait or a learnt trait?

    This is a question that has been discussed throughout the ages. Some people believe that leadership is hisomething that one is born with. In the views of others, leadership is a trait that is learnt through practice and dedication.

Before discussing whether it is learnt or inborn trait, one question must be answered: What is leadership?

    Leadership is an essential trait that helps to lead a group. It is a trait that provides light in the darkness. Leadership is a trait that can be taken as a light of hope in the darkness. It is a trait that helps the leaders to hold the group together and make it effective. It is something that encourages the group to work better. It can be said as a candle of hope.

    Now for the main question: Is leadership an inborn trait or a learnt trait?

    The people of the old days believed that leadership is a trait that one is born with. They believed that people born only in certain families were fit to rule/lead. The people of that time regarded that people from other backgrounds cannot ever lead the other groups. For example, in the ancient hindu society of Nepal, the people believed that only the people born in the chhettri caste were fit to rule as they were the ruling caste. They did not believe that people from the other castes could lead the people. The people back then had the belief that the people of each caste had specific duties and the children born in a specific caste had the same traits.

    In the modern cases, people had a mixed belief. Some still believe that leadership is an inborn trait while the others believe that it is learnt. However, i believe that leadership is not always inborn or learnt. I believe that leadership is a bit of both. In some cases, people might be born with this trait while in other cases, it might be learnt. An example of inborn leaders is the Shogun of Japan, Tokugawa. He was born with the traits of leadership. He was a born leader. He did not need to learn this skill. His leadership skill might have been inborn but was enhanced through learning. Another example of the inborn leadership trait is that of the Indian emperor Ashoka. He was an inborn leader. It was by seeing his leadership skills that the great teacher Chanakya chose to train him to become the ruler of the united India.

    On the other hand, an example of leaders who learnt the trait of leadership is the German leader Adolf Hitler. He started in the german army as a soldier. He could not do much in the beginning but after Germany was defeated in the First World War, he joined politics and by steady learning rose to the top of the government. He learnt different skills needed for effective leadership.

    Leaders who have the trait of leadership from birth may not always be able to show it at first. They have to learn about the proper use of the trait. People have to learn of the proper skills for an effective leadership. Thus, leadership even if it is an inborn trait, requires learning for the trait to be effective.

By-abhinavjoshi875@gmail.com