Are leaders born or made?

Last week, in the "Carrière et Emplois" insert of La Presse, there was an article about Leadership. It was based around Michel Leclerc's book "Qu'est-ce que le Leadership". One of the first questions the article asks is whether leaders are born or made; the answer that people always give in the end: "It is a little bit of both".

Every leadership class that we did in university started with the professor asking the students that question. In the earlier classes, the answer would be simple: "What the hell would we be doing here, in a leadership development course, if we thought that leaders were simply born that way". But then we realized that it wasn't that simple. The very fact that we wanted to learn more about leadership set us apart. The question then became whether this interest came from the environment or was something genetic. Again, this is not simple, since our environment is set by our genes. Our parents are the ones who create the world we initially live in which in turns defines what we will like or hate in the future. This intermeshing of external and internal factors means that the easiest answer is "Both".

And indeed, looking at past and current leaders, they all had to go through ordeals in order to become who they are right now. They had to learn how to become effective speakers, perfect their craft whatever it is, learn to inspire others and attract followers. However, their reaction to failure was not like everyone else's. They managed to come out of it greater than before. This seems to be something genetic, since we've seen so many people completely destroyed in similar situations.

In my opinion, all of this seems to overlook the sheer number of humans on earth. Basically, for every situation, there is a small probability that someone will manage to gain something from it. If it happens often enough, it will strengthen their position as leaders. Basically, if you overcame one obstacle, you will know that you can jump over the next one. Each victory builds upon the previous ones and cancels any potential failure. In the end, those who encounter those situations in which they can fail more often have a greater chance of becoming leaders. What this also means is that those leaders probably failed more often than regular people. History doesn't always remember those since, well, losing a senate election when you become president a few years later is not very important.

So, are leaders born or made? In my opinion, in everything we do, there is a genetic component. But the environment is always the most important. This is also in line with my idea of leaders as change agents. Change is always dependant on the situation which is a part of the environment.