When it comes to nature vs nurture, there are some leaders that are successful no matter where they go because of who they are and there are some leaders that will thrive is some environments but not in others. This is very apparent in sports. Coaches that fall into this category can go to a new team that is not doing well and completely turn it around. They can also take a team that is successful and help them win a championship. These coaches are highly sought after because they have come up with a system that leads to success. There are also coaches that haven’t figured out a successful system, so no matter where they go they fail even if they are in a great environment.
The implication is that, as a leader, you must do all you can to figure out a successful system for your team or organization. From there you can use it to be successful. It may be challenging, but once you figure it out, you will be a hot commodity.
Nature vs Nurture
Have you heard of the debate between nature vs nurture? Some people believe that you are born great while others think greatness is an acquired quality. Do people learn their traits and qualities or are they born with them? Are you born into life to be what you will be or do you have a choice in determining where you end up? Do you have control over your own destiny? There is an age old debate between nature vs nurture.
Nature
Those who believe in “nature” believe that people are born to be what they will be no matter what environment they grow up in. The people with this belief believe you don’t have control over where you end up in life. People that believe in “nature” believe that some people are born to be leaders, others will be businessman, and others will be teachers. All of those people don’t have any choice over where they end up.
Nurture
On the flip side, there are those people that believe in “nurture”. Nurture is the belief that people will be formed based on their environment. If a person is born into a successful environment with successful parents they will learn how to be successful and in turn be a success. At the same time, if that person is born into a situation with parents that live troubled lives they will not be successful because their parents did not teach them how to be successful.
Nature And Nurture
There are also people who believe that both nature and nurture play a role. They believe that people are born with specific tendencies, but whether or not they exhibit them depends on their environment as raised. An example is where someone may be born with a strong ability to teach. They would make a great teacher if they chose that route. If they were raised by a dentist, they could choose to be a dentist even though they would be a great teacher. It is all within their power and they have the choice. At the same time they could choose to be a teacher and be very successful.
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Translation To Leadership
In the debate of nature vs nurture, I believe that both nature and nurture play a role in who we are and what choices we make. Under that premise, leaders can take advantage of nature and nurture. They can create an environment that leads to their desired results. Leaders can create a system/environment within their company that helps everyone to be successful. If, however, the leader sets up a broken system it can lead to the failure of everyone. At the same time, just setting up a good system doesn’t guarantee success. Leaders must get the right people with the right talents and abilities to make the system successful.
I would really like to hear your thoughts on nature vs nurture. What are your thoughts on nature vs nurture? Do you believe that nature plays a stronger role than nurture? Do you believe that nurture plays a stronger role than nature? Please share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Brandon, I agree with your conclusion that both nature and nurture play a role. Recent research into neuroscience and emotional intelligence have shown that folks with certain traits do have tendency toward effective leaders. That is not to say if you aren’t wired a particular way you can’t be a leader, but it may be easier for some than others. Environment plays a role but it doesn’t play the only role.
Welcome Jim,
Thank you for sharing this valuable insight. That is very interesting that the research has been that direct as to say that if you have specific traits you are more likely to be an effective leader. It is very interesting to see how both nature and nurture contribute to how each person thinks and acts.
Sometimes I think engineers spend so much time in the “shop environment” that they think that every new hire comes “batteries included”, and any assistance they need must mean they are broken. One reason why leaders in wartime would ride horses was to give them a better vantage point and give orders when needed. A true leader must step back and analyse each situation to determine the needs of his/her minions to make their scale of progression balanced.
Joe,
You make a very important point. I would agree with you about your comment on engineers, but I would add that I don’t think it is just specific to engineers. I have seen many situations where people of all professional backgrounds get so entrenched in what they are doing that it becomes second nature to the point that they think everyone knows what they know. The leader doesn’t necessarily have to have all the “right” answers, they just need to be able to bring all the right players to the table so they can hash out the best overall solution in a spirit of teamwork and cooperation.