According to this view, leaders are born, not made.
It also suggests that leaders assume authority when theirleadership traitsare needed.
Have you ever heard the phrase, “Great leaders are born, not made”?
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According to this theory, you’re either a natural-born leader or not.
Historian Thomas Carlyle also had a major influence on this theory of leadership.
He stated, “The history of the world is but the biography of great men.”
According to Carlyle, effective leaders are those gifted with divine inspiration and the right characteristics.
These individuals often included aristocratic rulers who achieved their position through birthright.
Even today, people often describe prominent leaders as having the right qualities or personality for the position.
This implies that inherent characteristics are what make these people effective leaders.
Thenature vs. nurture debatein psychology suggests that some skills are innate while others are acquired through learning and experience.
In this case, great man theory suggests that nature plays the dominant role in leadership ability.
The following are some of the major critiques of this approach to explaining leadership.
Modern views emphasize that leadership abilities can be learned and honed with practice.
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