The Leadership Conundrum

Theories abound about whether leaders are born or made. Another context where the good old nature vs. nurture debate rears its head. As with most things, the answer lies somewhere in the middle. Many experts seem to think the bulk of leadership ability comes from training, not some innate capacity to rise to the top and manage people. More than once, I’ve been told, “Anyone can learn to be a leader.” I’m not sure that I agree, but there’s definitely value in honing your leadership skills through professional training and one-on-one coaching. On the flip side, is it possible for someone with inherent leadership tendencies to AVOID becoming a leader? Better yet, can a natural born leader choose to step away from the top spot in exchange for a less demanding role? That might sound simple, but here are some reasons why it might be harder than you think: <h1>Personality traits are difficult to overcome.</h1> One way to gauge whether someone is likely to excel in a certain job or career is to consider their personality type. The tendencies we’re born with can shed valuable insight into what motivates us and how we fit into a particular work role or culture. Recently, I took the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, hoping it would provide me with clues as to whether I was doing the right thing in preparing for a major career change, leaving a full-time environment to become an entrepreneur. I discovered that I’m an INFJ: Introversion. Intuition. Feeling. Judging. The INFJ is commonly coined a “counselor” or “advocate,” and is the rarest of all 16 personality types. Less than 2% of people fall into the INFJ category according to several sources. <a href="https://betterhumans.pub/the-leadership-conundrum-cb267ad86521">Learn More</a>