Spirit of Leadership

THE HIDDEN LEADER IN YOU be understood, studied, and challenged. Many leadership “gurus” have identified and articulated these myths. They can be summarized as follows:

Myth #1 Birth Trait Theory: “Leaders are born, not made.”

This theory is the belief that leadership is a result of special birth traits inherent in the personality and nature of the individual. It implies that some humans are born with unique qualities that earmark them for leadership, while the others—the majority, who do not possess these traits—are destined to be led.

W E CANNOT LIVE BEYOND OUR THOUGHTS AND CONVICTIONS .

This concept leads us to deify our leaders as men and women who are essentially unlike us and therefore supe rior to us. This philosophy results in our blocking our own leadership potential and development and surrendering our untapped leadership capacity to the control and limi tations of others. When this happens on a cultural level, we can even stunt the growth of our countries’ next genera tion of leaders.

Myth #2: Leadership by Providence

There is a belief that certain people are chosen by “the gods” and appointed to the elite position of leader ship over the unfortunate masses. In essence, leadership is reserved for the few chosen by a divine power to control,

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