What is executive leadership? Is it born or made? Is it nature or nurture? Does it comes with experience or does someone just have “it” before they even get in positions of leadership?

What is executive leadership? In a way, it’s everything just mentioned above. Leaders are probably born to some extent, but they are also created through education, nurture, experience, and development.

Executive Leaders are Made

Most research exploring the question of leadership suggests that leaders are mostly made. Evidence presented by research, mostly done on identical twins, suggests that leaders are about one-third born and two-thirds made.

A few traits are associated with leaders; these include,

• Intelligence – this is not necessarily IQ, but consists of various components including IQ, social intelligence, word comprehension, memory, creativity, and learned intelligence (experience), Some of these traits are nature, but many of them can be developed with nurture.
• The ability to take risks. Leaders must often make decisions that are risky and bold. Harry Truman said, “If you can’t take the heat stay out of the kitchen.” Leaders live in the kitchen, and if the heat bothers them, they will surely fail as leaders.
• Assertiveness. Though there may be a few timid leaders who stay behind the scenes, most leaders are assertive. They must stand out to attract followers and to get people to see and follow their vision.

Though these traits are something people are born with, they are also traits that can be, and should be developed. What is executive leadership development about if it’s not about taking characteristics and molding them to fit the needs of a leader?

What is Executive Leadership Development?

A successful leader must be able to know what followers want and need, determine why they want it, assess when they want it, and figure out why, if they aren’t getting it, something is stopping then from getting it.

Executive leadership development focuses on the leader. It focuses on expanding the traits an individual already possesses and developing them to their fullest.

Executive leadership development often focuses on a few key areas:

• Ethics
• Negotiation
• Communication
• Creativity
• Motivation
• Responsibility

What is Executive Leadership Development in the 21st Century?

Executive leadership training can concentrate on many different areas of leadership which will help executives work successfully in a dynamic and international market.

• Vision. Great leaders have always had vision, but in today’s fast-paced world, it is even more important to see the forest through the trees, and to focus on both the forest and the trees. This means that leaders need to be aware of not only the big picture, but also focus on the small details that make up the big picture.
• Building a wide constituency. The autocratic leader is becoming a thing of the past. Today’s modern executives need to build a wide constituency among employees and subordinates and have a wide range of relationships within the organization.
• Understanding your strengths and weaknesses. The ancient Greek aphorism “know thyself” is often attributed to Socrates, and it would be wise for today’s leaders to heed this wisdom. Good leaders should be able to assess their strengths and weaknesses, and then make decisions about hiring, delegation of authority and power, and the direction of an organization based on this assessment.

It’s good to ask. “What is executive leadership development?” It’s good to ask, “What are executive leaders doing to become better?” The demands of today’s dynamic and ever-evolving world demand better executives and better leaders, and good development is critical to the success of any organization, whether private, public, or government.

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Fred Philips
Business Coach
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