Conventional wisdom says leaders are born, but I don’t believe that’s true. From what I’ve seen, positive, life-changing leadership is an acquired trait, learned from interaction with others who know how to lead and lead well. Leadership is not an innate, mystical gift. It is a learned ability to influence the attitudes and behavior of others. As such, we can all learn, and then teach our kids and others, how to understand and apply the principles of successful leadership.
There are lots of leadership models. However, I think one model is more effective than others. I once spoke with the head of a Fortune 500 company who noted that he experienced an awakening in how he interacted with his employees. Here’s what he said.