Are Leaders Born or Made

Are Leaders Born or Made?
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Introduction
A leader is a person or an individual who commands or leads an organization, group, or a country. The question of whether leaders get made or born is quite a contentious matter of discussion that attracts all kind of arguments from different individuals. It is pretty evident that before one is a leader he is born, therefore, leaders are made after birth. It is for this reason that a good leader happens to be in a constant and a progressive mode of growth. Such a leader always strives in seeking new experiences while maintaining a personal introspection mode. Leaders handle a lot of information from many sources inclusive of their interpretations of life experiences, mentors, observations, and training. This paper explores to discuss the development of a leader, shed more light on whether leaders are either made or born, and what is expected of America to maintain its competitive advantage.
Views on leaders according to Burns’ video lecture
It is worth noting that leadership involves one to being passionate about whatever they do, being confident on the team to lead and on oneself. At the birth time, all individuals are born with a lot of genetic baggage, although a few have their hereditary leadership qualities predispositions being more favorable towards qualities of leadership. Such genetic predispositions happen to be less prominent in the majority of individuals, despite them containing such attributes in their genetic baggage.

After birth, everyone gets involved in constant interactions with different people and out of it individuals refine their values, and their natural behaviors become reinforced positively or negatively. Positive reinforcement increases behavior frequency and gets diminished when negatively enhanced (Marques, 2010).
Leadership happens to be an art rather than a science. Therefore, it comprises a set of innate traits which gets perfected and refined with time through training, education, and experience. To maximize individual output, leaders push team members to their best. Realization of organization success, people, must be driven by their leaders to their best but still make them feel safe because it all starts with the heart. Remarkable leader highly involves in activities of the groups they lead by ensuring that they lead by example. Through leading by example, team members positively take up the challenge from their leader and commit their effort towards the accomplishment of a common goal. Moreover, great leaders, have abilities to educate, delegate and motivate their followers (Marques, 2010).
Ursula Burns’s comments in the video on the leaders who are the ones seeking expert advice to facilitate the making of sound decisions in the process of dispensing leadership. She holds that such advice offers training and education to leaders on matters which they have little knowledge. She as well emphasizes on it by citing an example of the then American president seeking for pieces of advice on the issues he realized Burns had vast knowledge. However, she proceeds and argues out that, not all leaders are welcoming to information offered to them by other people. Therefore, there is a need for a leader to listen to comments of different people on things that are perceived not to be on track within organization’s mission and vision (Ursula, 2012).
Leaders usually deal with colossal information likely to disrupt them in many ways. To manage such disruptions, Burns says that leaders should avoid being carried away by certain beliefs. However, she says that “it depends who is in the leadership” comically. Another view on leaders according to the comments of Burns in the video is that leaders usually make best out of the current level upwards. To “get up there,” it is crucial for one to realize that one requires stepping stones which involves utilization of available resources to get to the next level. She, however, indicates that it is imperative to ensure that one gives back to the world more than what he gets from it. It is through this that one can be said to be successful. However, most leaders and individuals fail to achieve (Ursula, 2012).
Burns backs this up by saying that she had not yet given back the world more than she has gotten from it. According to Burns, for leaders to efficiently dispense their leadership skills, it is required of them to exercise calmness and consistency. Current leaders have leadership traits developed over time. Burns in the video said that “one should ensure he becomes good in that one thing he feels he is good at before working towards being average in other things.” Most leaders according to Burns fail to poses humility which happens to be ironical because they own various big names. The lack of humility leads to followers ganging up against a leader. As a result, a leader can lose his position or undergo a hard time in managing the group they lead. Burns in her lecture holds that it is expected of leaders to realize that workers and followers have passion, doubts, and families; therefore, the leader should engage the followers to reduce leadership challenges (Ursula, 2012).
A great leader usually makes a lot of self-sacrifices and hard choices in the bid to better the lives of people around them. Burns supports this perspective on leaders by saying that she hardly had time for her family. It is worth learning that every great leader must articulate a clear vision, must be courageous, honest and be of high integrity. It is through communication leaders put into light the progress and ideas of the groups they lead. Leaders exercise faith on whatever ideas they believe in for their followers to consider them as a leader. The lecture also enables one to realize that, there exist different levels of leaders through the value of service they offer. Such leaders include remarkable (likes of Nelson Mandela and Mahatma Gandhi), excellent, good, average, and miserable (Agho, 2009).
Maintaining America competitiveness advantage
I agree with Burns’ views regarding a disproportionate investment by the “haves” to ensure that America continues to maintain its competitive edge. Burns begins by acknowledging that in the past, America took off on a journey aimed at establishing reliable system structures on trade, energy, and education. She admits that there are things that make America lose its competitive advantage which include reduced talents, ideas, technology, and energy among others. As a result, America has continued to experience disruptions of its economy. According to her comments in the video, it is not pleasant for a country or a person to move from front backward. She says that one got it if he manages to move from the back towards the front (Ursula, 2012).
With a good education, America has continually equipped its youth and schooling population with the vast knowledge that ensures the continuation of quality services. Ursula holds that better institutions prepare America kids for greatness and leadership. However, Burns holds that there are those who prefer public institutions such as schools being fixed and charged more rather than an increase in the tax they pay. Such act from the “haves” aims at giving less to the society and getting more from those perceive not to have disrupting American economic balance. America must consider striking a balance between the “haves” and those “without.” (Ursula, 2012)
It is expected of American society mostly the haves to reconsider and to facilitate continued maintenance of its structures which supports growth pace and proper living standards all through as Burns holds. The urge to give less by the haves and the without wanting more will always disrupt the balance resulting in America loss or reduced competitive advantage among other nations. Moreso, any struggles between the haves and without where the haves points at the without and vice versa will always disrupt the strength of American economy. It is true according to Burns that the haves should give more while the without should ask for less. It is only through such; America will continue being advantaged and remain highly competitive (Porter, 2011).
America needs to invest more as it did in past years to maintain its competitive advantage. Therefore, several systems need be fixed and brought back to the previous normalcy which includes but not limited to; improving on social security education, healthcare, and eradicating unemployment. It is expected of every leader in America to ensure the continuation of America prosperity and competitive advantage by supporting and improving institutions and other systems. The fact that some leaders’ failure to take care of established systems anticipating their non-existence by the time things get out of hand is ill as such will continue depriving off America competitive advantage (Porter, 2011).

References
Agho, A. O. (2009). Perspectives of senior-level executives on effective followership and leadership. Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies, 16(2), 159-166.
Columbia Business Schools. (2012, May 29). Are leaders born or made?. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PrOsNhncPA4
Gentry, W., Deal, J. J., Stawiski, S., & Ruderman, M. (2012). Are leaders born or made? Center for Creative Leadership, (2), 1.
Marques, J. F. (2010). Awakened leaders: born or made?. Leadership & Organization Development Journal, 31(4), 307-323.
Porter, M. E. (2011). The competitive advantage of nations: creating and sustaining superior performance (Vol. 2). Simon and Schuster.