I Am A Born Leader

Leaders must be competent in their abilities to train others. Keep in mind, the ability to train someone does not require an individual to be in a leadership position. For example, a junior enlisted Soldier who is a Combat Medic may be able to train a junior NCO on Combat Lifesaver tasks because they are competent in that aspect. This is also one example of leadership being demonstrated on another spectrum thus, proving that everyone has leadership traits in them.

Leadership goals should always contain methods of a continuous process of learning through education, training, and individual experiences that help ensure that the message will be communicated in a confident and competent manner when leading troops. Soldiers tend to follow leaders that demonstrate and live the Army values, while displaying their confidence in every decision that affects change. Leaders are not born as organizational or tactical leaders; but grown by their genetic determinism, which is inside and the characteristics they work toward; that mold is which type leader they will become. Not just anyone can lead; you must have the desire to lead, be willing to make the commitment to being a leader, and prepare yourself properly, then you have the desire to become a leader. (Fulton, 1995).

What matters the most is what you do day by day over the long haul, explains the author. If you continually invest in your leadership and let your ‘assets’ compound, the inevitable result is growth overtime. While some are born with greater natural gifts than others, the ability to lead is really a collection of skills, with nearly all of which can be learned and improved. You can be a good leader if you want to, since everyone has the potential to be one, you just have to understand that you can’t accomplish it overnight. Leadership is complicated and has many facets, and it takes a lot of ‘seasoning’ to actually an effective leader. Whether you do or don’t have the natural ability for leadership, the author states that in the development and progress process probably occurred in the following four phases: Phase 1 being ‘I don’t know what I don’t know’ here a person doesn’t realize how valuable leadership is and believes it’s for people up the corporate ladder thus passing up the opportunity to learn how to lead. Phase 2 is ‘I know what I don’t know’ here you begin to realize the importance of learning how to lead and the learning process begins’. Phase 3 is ‘I grow and know and it starts to show’, in this phase you realize you lack skills and begin daily discipline of personal growth in leadership. In phase 4 ‘I simply go because of what I know’ is when you’re knowledgeable and your ability to lead

For me to be an effective leader, I must first evaluate my strengths. I took the Gallup 2.0 Strength Finder report which showed my strengths in an insight and action planning guide. The results indicated the top five themes for me were input, learner, responsibility, maximizer and arranger. I believe the

Barker, R. A. (1997). How can we train leaders if we do not know what leadership is? Human Relations, 50(4), 343-362. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/231429531?accountid=458

There are a variety of ways to define both leader and leadership. There is not, however, a clear definition of how to become one. There is no set list of mandatory traits, either innate or learned, that a person must embody to be considered successful or proved a failure. What I feel it takes is the right mix of strengths and weaknesses in a given situation to demonstrate effectiveness. No one person has abilities without accompanying deficiencies. It’s all in the way they are balanced. The balance in the way one uses his or hers’ abilities will ultimately determine the type of leadership one has throughout time. To support these claims I will examine a well-known leader throughout the military, General James “Mad Dog” Mattis. This essay

My personal experiences of leadership started when I was younger, roughly 7 years old, I was elected the captain of my travel soccer team. At the time I didn’t think much of it, nor did I have any extra duties that I was explicitly told that I needed to perform. Later throughout the season, I started to notice my teammates mimicking my styles and techniques and I highly enjoyed this feeling of being looked up to. I didn 't realize until years after that the recognition and pride I felt was leadership. This privilege of being captain was the first time I had realized that people weren 't necessarily following my actions because I was extraordinarily skilled, but because I provided this role model status with my confidence and encouragement. Some of the most valuable leaderships traits that I acquired and fortified are:

Leadership is multidimensional. There is no straightforward way to describe what a leader is or explain who makes a great leader. The description will be shaped by the purpose of the work being done and the followers one achieves. Dye (2010) states that leadership is a “living phenomenon” (p. 14) and supports the need to provide personalization to the leadership style. There is much discussion on the development of a leader. Some believe that you are a natural born leader who fine-tunes those skills through “persistence and perseverance of failures and successes” (Blanken, 2013, para. 5). Others, like Blanken (2013), feel that exposures early in life begin the development of leadership traits, and “education, jobs, and life experiences then shape the leader’s philosophy and psychology” (para. 7). A dominant style might be apparent in a leader; however, the adaptability in leadership approaches allows the leader to be focused on

To be a good leader you need the desire, willpower and then go through the never ending process of training, education and learning from experience.(Clark 2004)

There are numerous theories about leadership. Some of the theories suggest that leaders are born while others suggest that leaders are made through training.

Leaders have been around since the beginning of history in which their decisions and actions molded today’s society. From George Washington’s command to victory during the revolutionary war to the triumph of Martin Luther King Jr.’s nonviolent equal rights movement, there have been leadership qualities that have been evident throughout history. Society depends on the abilities of leaders in order to progress in the right direction and finish a specific task. There are many forms of leaders in which different skills are required. Each person has a different view of what a leader and leadership is, however, everyone is influenced by the leader they choose. An efficient leader is someone others turn to for guidance, direction, and inspiration in order to complete a goal. One who possesses leadership qualities is able to influence and persuade individuals in order to attain a desired end. Everyone has the power to be a leader and make a difference in their community. The leaders on Long Island are an important aspect of society because they influence the futures of teens and help them to discover their abilities.

As a growing debate, the question at hand is whether great leaders are born with specific leadership traits, or if one can be taught certain traits over time. According to (Wikipedia.com) the approach of listing leadership qualities, often termed "trait theory of leadership", assumes certain traits or characteristics will tend to lead to effective leadership. I believe that leadership traits such as honest, competent, initiative, inspiring, hardworking, intelligent, and the ability to lead the masses, are some of the leadership traits one should possess. Within this paper, I will examine the overall concept of leadership traits, while observing the traits that were, or can be associated with successful leaders.

The same is true for leadership. Not all who effectively lead are born with innate abilities that attract followers. Each of us brings our own combination of life experiences, personal traits and stylistic preferences to the practice of leadership. Through the act of deliberate reflection and contemplation, we become aware of ourselves and how our experiences and traits are likely to help or hinder our pursuit of effective leadership. We become aware of our personal truths, our strengths and our faults and I believe this is the foundation from which leadership is built.

Some believe that leaders are born into this world, that hidden somewhere in their lineage is some secret gene or segment of DNA which gifts them with all the traits and qualities of the leaders before them. Some, on the other hand, surmise that leadership is something instilled at a young age. That you are either raised into a leader, or you are not. However, I consider leadership to be achievable for anybody. The leader in my life which I hope to emulate is my grandfather, Boyd Brummett. Growing up, he would always tell me that there are two types of people in this world, leaders and followers. He is not the first to say this, but he is one of the best examples of a principled leader that one can find. The traits that I have always respected in my grandfather and hope to emulate are his tenacity, his humility, and his constant drive to improve himself.

Leadership is something that can be taught (Northouse, 2015. There are some valuable theories, which will be discussed later in this paper, how a leader can develop into having a strong influence in any daily aspect of their lives. Also later in this paper it will be discussed the various styles of leaders that can affect the behaviors of the actions of each leader. Each leader can learn these attributes or some of them just have the natural capability of being a leader.