“Leaders are born or made?”

Amongst all the modern day public platforms –Emails, blogs, LinkedIn, Twitter or Facebook, WhatsApp is the most active and popular amongst all. To keep receiving the messages which you had not asked for. The fact is WhatsApp has given a complete new dimension to forwarded messages. Before nobody has ever had such an experience. We never received or forwarded messages like this to each other in Whatsapp. Earlier forwarded mails were deleted without giving a second thought. But these days more no of times the message is forwarded, more relevant it becomes. WhatsApp has changed all that – it has shown how a “forward” can make sense and be a source of pleasure and information.

Today I got a forwarded message on my Watts App group which depicted how Krishna influenced Pandavas and Kauravas during the war. They were skilled and intellectual people who had expertise and knowledge but still they were influenced by Krishna. It raised a question in my mind if Leaders are born or made? How they chose their leadership style. The answer to the question is that it depends on the situation.

Taking the example of Mahatma Gandhi, it is observed that he was not a born leader. He was put in a situation where he had to emerge as a leader.  He had embraced “ahimsa” in India. This was a big change. He also was a leader who did not ask to lead from the front. He was pushed into the leadership role, into which he settled down well, and, over the years, excelled. He became the platinum standard of leadership. Like Krishna he was not a “strategist” with a deep knowledge of life and its mysteries. He was a lawyer by profession, a self taught man about Indian philosophy, the shastras, the puranas, the vedas, the upanishads. However, his homilies were down to earth and understood by a population which wanted to hear him say those things. One could thus conclude that Gandhi was in between Rama and Krishna.It can be clearly concluded that nobody is a born leader. The qualities of a leader need to be inculcated and groomed.

Leadership is a splendored thing. It can emerge at any age. Like mahatama Gandi or Modi ji , it can be at middle age or like Zukerburg in young age. It has different dimensions. Few are born leaders where many develop leadership Qualities over a period of time. Arguably Lord Krishna was a born Leader which can be easily concluded looking at his childhood life, while Gandhiji probably had developed many of his leadership qualities during his lifetime. He evolved from an ordinary Lawyer to a most popular mass leader. Similarly Modiji has evolved from a very humble background of being Chaiwala to be the Prime Minister of India and probably one of the most popular world Leaders today. There are many common things between both these great Indian Leaders – one of the most common things is that their leadership development journey was not by design but it happened thro’ sustained efforts of doing right things at right time and every time – both are great example to true Learners. Another most common quality between both is their emphasis on communication. Both are considered to be master communicators, although they have done differently and under very much different technological environment. Both are true believers and genuine examples of demonstrating leadership by doing the things themselves. So in summary, a successful leadership requires – Personal Integrity, Honesty, courage to do unconventional things, Heart to heart connect with team, innovative ways to communicate, sustained efforts to do right things every time and genuine commitment to ideas of self .

At GNIOT Institute of Management Studies, Greater Noida, we provide ample opportunities for the students to bring out the best leader in them. We help the students to identify their core competencies and emerge as future leaders.