It’s
a debate as timeless as the age-old controversy about the chicken and
the egg. One school of thought proposes leaders are born that way –
naturally intelligent, strategic, visionary and charismatic, able to
articulate a plan and rally their teams around it. Others believe
that leaders are made – needing ongoing experience, training,
development and coaching/mentoring.
So
then, what “does it take” to be an effective leader; and are
leaders “born” or “made?” We asked 4 sector leaders to share their thoughts

Dr
Purvish M. Parikh, Member of Board of Studies, Maharashtra
University of Health Sciences and Director of Precision Oncology,
Asian Cancer Institute.
_________________________________
Nishit
Kumar, Head, Communication & Strategic Initiatives, CHILDLINE
India Foundation
CHILDLINE
is a national, 24x7, free, emergency, phone outreach
service (1098) for children in need of care and protection, linking
them to long term rehabilitation.
_________________________________
Starting
from when I was very young I attended YMCA summer camps. At camp we
were given A LOT of leadership responsibilities and I was able to
experience my first big leadership failures. My first big failure was
directing my canoe group about 10 kms off course towards the wrong
island. This was a big and real life failure that I and my whole team
had to pay for by not having dinner until very very late at night.
That
was my first (hardly last) leadership "wrong turn". And
that time and every time since, it has been about:
-
seeing the mistake (self awareness)
-
turning the map the right way up (flexibility)
-
starting again (resilience) or in that case 10 km behind where we
started in the first place.
I
have a phase I say to myself, "burn it to the ground", only
to myself, not out loud, I don't want to sound crazy. Because
sometimes you fail - not a little bit but a whole lot, and you have
to start all over again.
To
me "Burning it to the ground" is what leadership is all
about. As a leader you have to be the one to light the match and to
lead your team in starting again.
Mary
Ellen Matsui, Executive Director, Atma
Atma
empowers grassroots education NGOs to become bigger, better &
stronger.
_________________________________

There
are also countless instances of individuals being "thrown"
into a leadership role- someone who entrusted him/her with an
opportunity that was bigger than his or her ability at the time of
the opportunity, so s/he took upon him/herself to learn and advance
and become a leader. A
great example comes from the bible when Moses saw himself as someone
not worthy of the task of leading the people out of Egypt but
ultimately went on to be recorded in the bible as the greatest leader
-Visionary, passionate, persistent, patient.
Leadership
can be developed over time. It is essentially about understanding
other people and more importantly about understanding yourself. Just
having the traits is not enough but much “application” is also
needed. A
tea vendor with humble beginnings, described as "an average
student" by teachers, belonging to the OBC category went on to
become a Prime Minister not because he was a born leader but by
slowly and gradually working his way to the top through hard work and
dedication. In
conclusion I would say, Leaders are certainly made and on a lighter
note- maybe they are born to be made!
Nissim
Pingle, Senior Manager, EPJCC, AJDC, India
AJDC
helps with life saving work for the needy and elderly and also
involved in community enrichment efforts.
We welcome your views, Are Leaders born or Made?
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