I had a conversation today about leadership. I made the comment that I thought leaders are born not made.
As I drove around later I began to change my view. Leaders might be born, but good leaders are born and then made.
My point is simple… naturally gifted leaders have influence. Influence means that you have an effect on other people – they move the way you’re going.
This can either be good or bad. If someone is moving in a bad direction then he or she is leading poorly. If someone is moving in a good direction then he or she is doing good to the people that are being influenced and pulled along.
So what’s the difference between the born leader and the leader born then made? The second simply takes a person with influence and allows them to be trained and matured so that their influence is used to help others and glorify God.
In other words, Darth Vader was a born leader, but Luke Skywalker was a leader born then made.
I think this simply echoes the process Jesus followed with his disciples – he chose leaders and made them into good leaders. Leaders are born, then made.