Leadership, Intro/plan/conclusion

“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.”, wrote Warren G. Bennis, a famous organizational consultant who worked in the 60’s on the leadership topic.

His work laid the foundations of management concepts with a specific focus on leadership, still up to date nowadays, giving a clear and novative view for the time on what a leader should be. Most of people until then were believing in the fact that becoming a leader was linked to natural qualities you were born with. But finally could we establish a link between inborn qualities and leadership capabilities? Could genetic have an influence on human management behavior or can you just become a manager with real leadership skills through your experience and learning?

We will try through a series of examples and testimonies to understand how genetic can impact human behavior and see what innate qualities can impact the way they handle their work. Then we will focus on the different means managers can rely on to develop their skills and become real leaders.

1. Influence of genetics in human behavior

2. Developing skills to become a leader

If leadership is the capacity of enrolling and leading people around a collective action, charism is one of its characteristic, and this quality can definitely be innate.

Does this mean that there is a genetic factor to leadership? Many studies and examples demonstrate that there can part of it, but also illustrate the importance of experience and personal development to become a true leader. Did not the 20th century history show us some examples of this?

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