by Todd Pheifer

Created on: April 08, 2009

Talent or training? That is the question that people ask in a variety of fields and it plagues organizations who wonder if certain people will ever truly "get it." People acknowledge that certain skills or abilities seem to be innate, but there are certainly attempts in the marketplace to infuse certain levels of proficiency into individuals through training opportunities. But, is "leadership" an instinct or can it be learned?

Leadership, defined?

Of course, one challenge is defining leadership. Is it a case where someone is simply followed? Sometimes people are followed because people have confidence that they will be led in the right direction. Other times, people follow only out of curiosity, as the old joke goes. Leadership is one of those things that some people just have a "sense" about. People who are "leaders" are readily defined as such, but not everyone in a "leadership position" in automatically defined as a true leader.

People skills

Much of leadership has to do with interpersonal skills. Can a person dialogue with an individual or small group and also inspire a large gathering to action? Some people are simply comfortable in these situations, and have often been so since they were young. Others can practice their behavior in given scenarios but never truly reach a point of easy comfort.

Experience

Leadership is in some ways connected with experience, but just because someone has been through a number of events does not make them a leader. Still, experience can be a great teacher because someone may have leadership "ability" but still make mistakes in particular situations.

Humility

In many ways, the effective leader is the person who maintains a certain level of humility. In other words, they recognize that they do not know everything and that there are always people who can help them. Can humility be taught? That is a tough question. People can be humbled through experience, but again, does it cause them to apply humility in future situations, or do they just avoid the negative reinforcement of being embarrassed?

Overall, one might argue that leadership stems in many ways from natural ability. Certain people are wired to think critically, problem solve, and interact well with others. To be sure, individuals can go to seminars dealing with issues, strategies, and effective management of situations. However, many times effective leaders are those that simply know what to do, and do not need a seminar to explain to them how to wisely handle the situation.

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