are leaders born, made or just poached?

Leader16 independentJUNE 30 2013

THE SUNDAY

WHEN Agang SA leaderMamphela Ramphelelaunched the party, shewas accused of failingto announce prominent

individuals who had joined the party asit prepares to contest next year’s gener-al elections. All she said was manyexperienced parliamentarians and“battle-hardened activists” would joinAgang’s national and provincial lead-ers in the coming months.

For me this evoked the age-oldchicken-and-egg question: Are leadersborn or are they made? Why wouldAgang depend on ready-made leadersfrom other parties?

Why can’t Agang SA and everypolitical party, company or organisa-tion, breed, groom or produce its ownleaders? After all, countries, partiesand even companies groom their ownleaders. Where was US PresidentBarack Obama 15 years ago? Wherewas British Prime Minister DavidCameron six years ago? Where wasDemocratic Alliance leader LindiweMazibuko a few years ago?

Where was Adrian Gore (Groupchief executive of Discovery Group) 20years ago, or Sim Shabalala (StandardBank joint chief executive) five yearsago?

When did you first hear about theseleaders? The above political and busi-ness leaders and hundreds of othersare evidence that some individuals are

born with natural abilities that propelthem to leadership. On the other handit is possible to develop leadershipskills in an individual.

Too often we see what appear to benatural leadership skills only as peopleemerge from the shadows of outgoingleaders – from Bill Clinton to Obama,from Jaco Maree to Sim Shabalala –and fail to see the work, time, and effortthat the individuals, parties and com-panies have devoted to getting them toa position of leadership.

There are many witty quotations onwhat leadership means to the peopleand society at large. Harold R McAlin-don said: “A leader may not followwhere the path may lead. He goesinstead where there is no path andleaves a trail.”

Thomas Carlyle described leader-ship in simple words: “The history of

the world is but the biography of greatmen.”

Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe said:“What chance gathers is easily scat-tered. A great person attracts great peo-ple and knows how to hold them togeth-er.”

So to the question of are leadersborn or made, my answer is simple:leaders are born and leaders are made.

Regardless of the leader being bornor developed, there are commondenominators such as intelligence,communication skills, charisma, fol-lowers, creativity, and humility thatautomatically surface as they are givenan opportunity to assume leadershiproles.

On the other hand, I would arguethat those qualities are the result ofinteractions, experiences and transac-tions involving a person from birthuntil the time that you meet them.

For me, the four – intelligence, com-munications skills, charisma and fol-lowers – make a leader.

Here the late British Prime MinisterMargaret Thatcher was spot on whenshe said: “Watch your thoughts for theybecome words. Watch your words forthey become actions. Watch youractions for they become habits. Watchyour habits for they become your char-acter. And watch your character for itbecomes your destiny. What we think,we become.

“My father always said that… and I

think I am fine.” The Iron Lady was right. We all

admire a leader who inspires us, standsby us in times of joy and pain andshares with us joys and triumphs.Whether a leader is born or made, whatactually matters is the ability to leadfrom the front, confidently, winning theconfidence of those who look up to you.

Good leaders create a vision, artic-ulate the vision, passionately own thevision and relentlessly drive it to com-pletion. That’s what great leaders aremade of.

Who remembers this vision fromformer president Nelson Mandela? “Ihave fought against white domination,and I have fought against black domi-nation. I have cherished the ideal of ademocratic and free society in whichall persons will live together in harmo-ny with equal opportunities. It is anideal which I hope to live for, and to seerealised. But my Lord, if needs be, it isan ideal for which I am prepared todie.”

Indeed, a leader with vision, such asMandela, has a clear, vivid picture ofwhere to go. But it’s not enough to havea vision; leaders must also share it andact upon it.

It is at this point when I agree withthose who say leaders are made. Youcan’t teach charisma and character.

■ Van Wyk is chief executive of

AstroTech Training.

WHEN President Barack

Obama returns home after

his visit to South Africa

and two other African

states it is to be hoped that

he will do so with a sense of

accomplishment other than a tick next the box

of “things to do – visit Africa”.

The ascension of the first African-

American to the Oval Office in 2009 raised

hopes among many that the arrival of Obama

would lead to an increased focus on the

continent.

Americans say: “It is not over until the Fat

Lady sings” but with only about three years

left in office, Obama has left it late to dispel the

perception that Africa has been low on his

administration’s list of priorities.

To be fair, these priorities have been many

and pressing, not least of which was pulling

the US from the brink of an economic

depression and then clawing out of a

prolonged recession.

Then, after a scandal-free first term, Obama

has been devoting time to tackling the crises

that, in their various forms, afflict all US

administrations.

The latest of these – electronic spying –

erupted just as Obama set off for his belated

African safari.

And the nations on the list for his short tour

tell much of the desire for a quick, happy trip.

Missing from the itinerary is the land of his

birth, Kenya, where both the president and his

deputy are wanted by the International

Criminal Court.

Also missing is the powerhouse of Nigeria,

subject to recent US criticism over human

rights abuses. On the menu are peaceful

Senegal and Tanzania and South Africa.

In his only other visit to Africa Obama

spent less than a day in Ghana, so in

comparison it could be said the American

president is indeed devoting more time to

what the Chinese, for one, have clearly marked

as a place of economic opportunities. Indeed

trade has been placed high on the stated

agenda of Obama’s trip, and it is there that he

can leave a mark, even if it is to, in effect,

further the policies of his predecessors Bill

Clinton and George W Bush.

Both pushed for increased trade, with

Clinton introducing the African Growth and

Opportunity Act, with its generous provisions

for preferential trade agreements between

qualifying African countries and the United

States.

Under its provision trade has soared, to the

benefit of many Africans in many nations,

including South Africa.

It is up to the US Congress to renew it, but if

Obama is to prove his commitment to this