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Made not Born?
The Concept of Leadership

Philip Gilbert-Smith

ICN National Conference
19 July 2006

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Leaders: made not born?

To explore the concept of leadership

To stimulate discussion >
Objectives
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Ive read the obituaries of leaders, but
never have I seen a birth announcement
for a leader. I can only deduce that
somewhere between birth and death, by
training, by choice and by strength of
character, people become leaders. Anon


Opening Thought.
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Who thinks that they were born as a leader?

Who thinks they have developed/been developed
into a leader?

How many of you do not think that you are a
leader? >
Are you a Born Leader?
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The Spiritualist
I know God will not
give me anything I
cant handle. I just
wish that He didnt
trust me so much.
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The Businessman
My biggest motivation?
Just to keep challenging
myself. I see life almost
like one long University
education that I never
had - every day I'm
learning something new.
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The Celebrity
How did this man inspire
a world to donate
millions for poverty?
What did he stir in us to
make us want to help?
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The biggest leadership
challenge any of us face
in our lives is bringing
up our children
Mum and Dad
Where do we get these
skills from?


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Theory v Practice
What the practitioner says: Leaders are made, they
are not born. They are made by hard effort, which is
the price which all of us must pay to achieve any goal
that is worthwhile. Vince Lombardi

What the theorist says: The most dangerous
leadership myth is that leaders are born that there is
a genetic factor to leadership. This myth asserts that
people simply either have certain charismatic qualities
or not. Thats nonsense; in fact, the opposite is true.
Leaders are made rather than born. Warren Bennis
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People are born with some innate
leadership qualities

Life experience/influencers

So how do we develop ourselves and
others to become successful leaders? >
Our View is.
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Leadership begins with learning to know
and control oneself first. Then, and only
then, can we lead and enable others.
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Our View is.
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Awareness
Control
Confidence
Self - Realisation
True to self >

Leadership Development
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Top 5 influences for peoples development
(research report conducted on behalf of The Manufacturing
Foundation by The Leadership Trust March 2005)

Work based learning 59%
Leadership training courses 49%
Experience of colleagues 49%
Encounters with other leaders 47%
Feedback from subordinates 42% >


Views of others
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We have always thought of a leader only in the
context of the person who heads the organisation.
But think of a Doctors surgery..
The General Practitioner
The Practice Manager
The Practice Nurse
The Health Visitor
The Midwife
The Receptionist
Are they all leaders?
How do we help them to fulfil those leadership roles?
Who is a Leader?
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A true leader is not necessarily the person with
the title. A true leader is the person with the
passion and the belief for what they stand for,
whose vision is clear and focused.

What difference would it make to the performance
of the people who work with you, if you looked on
each and every one of them as a leader in their
own right, and you treated them as such? How
might they grow and develop with your support? >
What is a Leader?
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The ability to lead lies within us all
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Final Thoughts..(1)
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There is little doubt that there is some capacity
for leadership within practically every one of us.
However, like every skill, the capacity to lead
comes with experience and study. We can only
improve ourselves, in any way, by a conscious
effort to learn to do better. Sir John Harvey-Jones
Final Thoughts..(2)