Is Leadership Inborn, or Trained in Early Years?

The authors of my current Master's textbook, Tolbert and Hall (2009), explained that there are the “big five” personality characteristics that are commonly associated with leadership.

They are

“1. 'Surgency' (or extraversion)

2. Conscientiousness

3. Emotional stability

4. Agreeableness or cooperativeness

5. Intellect” (p. 93)(From Digman, 1990)

These five characteristics are associated with effective leaders. If a person is significantly lacking in some of these areas, it is likely he or she will not be an effective leader.

This research indicates that three of the five characteristics (conscientiousness, emotional stability, and cooperativeness) are usually trained during the childhood formative years. From personal experience and observation, it is very difficult to learn conscientiousness and emotional stability after one's formative years. One's intellectual capacity may be determined at birth, but requires training to reach its potential. I am unsure of how much true extraversion is inborn or learned. However, a pseudo-extraversion can be learned. At least four of the characteristics require training, and three of them must be during the formative years! Thus, those raising children are the ones responsible for forming leaders.

References:

Hall, R. H., Tolbert, P.S. (2009). Organizations: Structures, processes, and outcomes, 10th Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall. ISBN:978-0-13-244840-6.