10 of 25

Write now Article Tools

Leadership is a topic that has continued to create a lot of interest in our modern world today - especially in times like this, when the global financial crisis has continued surge has left the world in shambles, almost industry in the economy, from the financial and banking industries to the property and housing market have been severely affected by the financial meltdown. It is in times like this, a renewed call for leadership - for men and women of principles, experience, and vision that are capable of dealing with difficult and seemingly impossible situations. These men and women are the kind of persons who are capable of rebuilding our shattered economies, by bringing to the table pragmatic and sound ideas.

I am of the opinion that leadership is not instinctive, it is learned and anyone to some extent can be a leader if they learn some of the important principles that any leader needs to learn. We have been very fortunate to have so many men and women who have shown sound leadership capabilities in the 21st century: Mahatma Ghandi, Nelson Mandela. Winston Churchill, Abraham Lincoln, Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, Mother Theresa, Margaret Thatcher, Mary Kay, Oprah Winfrey, and Angela Merkel.

There are some common principles that anyone looking at the lives of these men and women would find that these men and women had vision, they refused to settle for less than their best, they had dreams and they pursued their dreams with passion and a lot of hard work. They did have their own share of setbacks and difficulties, but they did not allow that to discourage them, rather they learned from their mistakes and went back to work. They never indulged in a pity party, or felt sorry for themselves.

They knew how to motivate people, to go beyond the ordinary: know one can dispute the role Churchill played in the second world war to ensure that Britain was not defeated in battle by the German. He inspired the British Soldiers when everyone else had lost faith in them and in their ability to defeat the Germans. Churchill said 'We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.'

No one is my own opinion in born a leader, I believe that people and the circumstance they face, are the principle things that inspire men to choose to become leaders, those who choose by answering to a noble call, or fighting for injustice were every they see it, based on a need to address a problem. The inequality and racial problem in the 1960's that beset America in the 1960s saw the rise of Martin Luther King and Malcolm X, who decided that the black minorities would not continue to be treated unequally. The same can be said of Mahatma Gandhi who rose up to fight the colonisation of India by the British. In these incidences, these men stood up to fight against injustice that the men and women living in these countries at the time faced.

Learn more about this author, Araniyar Isukul.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Is leadership an instinct or learned??
We want to hear your view. Write now!