MBA 511 Leadership Core

Cohort 16

Assignment 1 (10 Marks) Deadline: Midnight, 19 March 2022

Student Name: Sayed Niyam Alami ID Number: Sa21095

Question:
What makes great leaders? Nature V Nurture.
Use the course material, covered in class, and additional research to:
1. Outline the case for both perspectives.
2. State which perspective you agree with, giving at least 3 reasons (justifications).
Base your answer on class presentations, class discussion, text reading and topic research. Make sure
that your answer is given in your own words, (no cut and paste or unreferenced quoting) reflecting your
personal understanding of the topic and related issue. Maximum 1000 words.

The answer to the question of whether leaders are made or born is a debate that's perpetually
ongoing. There are some who believe great leaders are made as they claim best leaders have
brains simply distinct from the laymen. This idea completely negates the fact that skills can be
taught. On the other hand, there are then those who believe leadership is merely a skill that can
be learned and improved. Nevertheless, I believe being a great leader is a complex composition
of both genetic and environmental influences.
As far as I am concerned, people are both born leaders and also made into leaders. It's actually a
set of skillset and traits; some are born innately with them, others can develop them through
experiences and training. Meanwhile, recent scientific studies suggest that leadership is 24%
genetic and 70% learned. For instance, a study employing twin design methods on data from the
National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health "estimated the heritability of leadership role
occupancy at 24%" (De Neve et al., 2013). These findings show that leadership is developed
chiefly than inherited. So we can't entirely overlook any of them. One can have inborn
characteristics of great leaders, while another could effectively develop those characteristics for
leadership. Given that different theories and notions lay credence to this dichotomy, both are
worth looking. By way of illustration, the Great Man Theory of leadership suggests that some
people are born to lead. Great leaders can't be made because leadership qualities are innate. It's
true that characteristics like charisma, intelligence, political skills, and wisdom are some of the
natural attributes of successful leaders; however, recent studies and knowledge say otherwise.
According to Williams (2013), the idea of a natural leader is "an old-fashioned notion of
leadership." Quoting Petra Wilton of the Chartered Management Institute, the article says "We
100% believe that you can teach and develop the skills for leadership, at whatever level you are.
It's not about teaching knowledge, it's a practical skill." As mentioned afore, effective leadership
is often a complex blending of both hereditary and environmental factors; it's not absolute one or
the other.
 MBA 511 Leadership Core
Cohort 16
References

Williams, M. (2013, November 26). Nature vs nurture: Can you learn to be a successful leader?
The Guardian. Retrieved March 19, 2022, from https://www.theguardian.com/careers/
women-leadership-blog/nature-nurture-learn-successful-leader

De Neve, J.-E., Mikhaylov, S., Dawes, C. T., Christakis, N. A., & Fowler, J. H. (2013, Febru-
ary). Born to lead? A twin design and Genetic Association Study of Leadership Role Occu-
pancy. The leadership quarterly. Retrieved March 19, 2022, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.ni-
h.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3583370/