Day 15 – Q 4.Are leaders born with the right attitude or does it get imparted through experience and actions? Critically examine.
4. Are leaders born with the right attitude or does it get imparted through experience and actions? Critically examine.
क्या नेता पैदा ही सही दृष्टिकोण के साथ होते हैं या फिर यह अनुभव और कार्यों के माध्यम से प्रदान किया जाता है? समालोचनात्मक से जांच करेंI
Synopsis
‘A leader is someone who knows the way, goes the way and shows the way’ – John C Maxwell
The three traits of a leader are:
- Having a vision
- Motivating the team to achieve that mission
- Lead by an example to show others how vision is to be achieved
It is often debated whether a leader is born with these traits or does it get imparted through experience and action. Many scholars, like Rosabeth Moss Kanter, argue that a leader is born with some special quality. For example, Nelson Mandela, unlike his fellow citizens, was from a royal family and lived a life of privilege. Still he fought against apartheid more vigorously than others, who were worse victims of the system. Thus, it was his right attitude which made him the leader, and not his actions and experiences.
On the other hand, others argue that his leadership ability developed due to the influence of his family, education and social interactions. It was through these experiences he became more aware of the atrocities being inflicted on the blacks by the while colonizers, than others. Thus, his experience shaped his initial thought which when coupled with his actions, as the part of ANC, helped him emerge as the leader of the nation.
Similarly, Gandhiji’s views were shaped by the discrimination he faced in South Africa. This along with his views, based on his readings of Gita, Tolstoy and John Rawls, helped him shape his action and emerge as the leader of the masses.
Likewise, Raja Ram Mohun Roy took up the issue of Sati only after his own sister-in-law committed Sati in front of his eyes. This went against his modern values and motivated him to devote his life against the system.
Thus, a right attitude is necessary to become a leader. However, right attitude comes when a person has self-awareness along with right values. While few people can have higher self-awareness from birth, such as Buddha, others get self-awareness and learn right values through experiences and actions, such as Buddha seeing the four sights.
Best Answer – Sharad Sharma
